The Last One
by jazflower
Summary: The 25 year long war is finally coming to a close. Or is it? Could the last desparate attempt from the last surviving member of an entire race be able to change the very course of history and time itself? Could he alter time to stop the war altogether?
1. Authors note

Hi everyone. So this is my first attempt at a Bleach/Harry Potter cross-over. I hope you enjoy it.

Before you start however, there are some things you need to know because this is slightly AU to the Harry Potter books. I've changed it so that at the end of the fourth book Voldemort doesn't regain his body, everything else happens though, Cedric dying and all, but something went wrong with the whole body thing so that hasn't happened yet. Harry made it back and is saying Voldemort is trying to regain his body but nobody believes him, much like when he says Voldemort is back. So it is only something small, but I needed to do it for my story to work, so I hope you can look past that one detail and enjoy my story.

I will do only one disclaimer for the story and it will be here at the start so that you don't have to keep reading it, I mean we all get the picture that I own nothing to do with this stuff.

Disclaimer: I do not in any way own anything to do with, or is related to Harry Potter or Bleach.


	2. Prologue

Prologue

He was running, the heat blasting at his back. The air stank of the foul odours of burning, death, decay and destruction all mixed together; the smell of war. The rubble was uneven under foot, attempting to trip him. But he couldn't stop or he would die. A flash of blue light whizzed past his head missing by a mere hair. An explosion was heard in the distance and the massive shockwave vibrated through the ground sending rubble and debris flying and knocking him off his feet. He flew with the mess before slamming into a wall and promptly destroying it. He lay in the mess, unable to feel his lower body. Everything hurt; it was as though his nerves themselves were caught in an excruciating fire. He slowly pulled himself up so that his head poked up slightly through the rubble. What he saw almost made him fall back down again. The once proud city lay in ruins; scattered and burning. It had been his home, the place where he had lived, worked, played and loved. But it was gone; unsalvageable.

A burning fire ignited in his eyes. He was not going to surrender and die, that just was not how he did things. Many had fallen but he himself would stay strong and be victorious, no matter what it took to achieve the victory which seemed just out of reach.

He heard the loud marching feet far away as the enemy searched for survivors. It was only a matter of time before the ones pursuing him found him. He needed a plan and fast. His brain quickly ran through scenario after scenario in the space of 30 seconds, each idea getting rejected.

Crash! "Aarrgghh!"

He was pulled out of his thoughts at the sound of a woman screaming. The voice was familiar, though it had been a long time since he had heard it. Before he realised what he was doing he was up and running, numb to the pain shooting along his spine and sending pins and needles to his legs and feet. He reached the edge of another battlefield within the larger battlefield. What he saw made his blood cold.

On the ground against the wall a woman was slumped, semi-conscious with blood oozing from a large gash along her hairline. Her once beautiful and well kept blonde hair hung mattered and limp around her shoulders and face. She lifted her face slightly to lock eyes with him one last time. Her bright blue eyes were dulled by pain. Her colourless lips formed words that he couldn't quite make out before they closed again.

He was rooted to the spot just staring at one of the only friends he had and time seemed to move slowly.

A black haired head rose from the wreckage of a building, his eyes looking at the blonde on the ground, a sadistic smirk adorning his face. His right wrist was slightly extended in front of him holding casually an exquisite piece of wood before muttering two words.

"Avada Kedavra"

The area lit up in green light, illuminating the area in a sickly green light. The blonde dropped forward, unable to dodge, dead before she hit the ground.

He couldn't believe it. He had killed her. The one single word, so familiar on his tongue, ripped past his parched throat, his anguished cry disturbing the night air.

"MATSUMOTO!"

The black haired man lazily looked over before drawing his piece of wood again. But he had no chance to use it because the other man had drawn his sword and was rushing forward. Pure hatred and loathing shone in his eyes. Hatred for the man in front of him, hatred for the people who killed the people he cared about, hatred for the war, hatred for himself for feeling so insignificant and helpless, but most of all, hatred and loathing for the man who started it all – Sosuke Aizen.

With the hatred running hot in his blood he fought hard, constantly moving, landing blow after blow. He knew he was running while he was fighting, fighting so many people at once. They were everywhere, attacking from every direction, but he didn't notice because the one he wanted to fight was no longer there, the black hair long gone from his sight.

Slowly he moved towards an unknown location, his brain telling him that it was a safe place, a place where he could work out a plan of action. He backed up against large doors and all his instincts screamed at him to run in, that he had arrived at his destination. Following his head, he wrenched open the heavy doors with ease and then slammed them shut. Quickly he set about placing as many wards and protective spells and barriers around the doors he knew until he felt certain that they would hold, if only for a little while. He turned around and was surprised to find himself in the immense library, undisrupted by the fighting. He knew it should be impossible, but the place looked exactly the same as when he had last been here, before the war, 25 impossibly long years ago. He could almost imagine somebody sitting in one of the many comfy chairs around the place, reading a book or talking quietly with a friend. But he didn't have time for that now.

He walked forward unsure of what to do. He felt like he walked around aimlessly for what seemed like forever before he reached a bookshelf, one that he himself had visited many, many times before. One book called out to him, calling his name as though calling a long lost friend. He gently lifted the book out of its place and looked down at the well worn violet bindings. He knew this book, and as soon as he realised that, a plan started to form. He hastily sat down at a table and read. He read faster than he had in his whole life, finishing the book as quickly as he could. However, he didn't know how long he had been reading for, and he didn't know how much longer the doors would hold, so he started the preparations for what would be the most complicated spell he had ever attempted in his whole life.

* * *

Half an hour later the doors of the library were demolished, open for the world to enter. A black haired man entered the doorway as his troops rushed in to find the last surviving threat to the perfect world that was being created. He had eluded capture more times than thought possible for one man, but this time they would have him. He was cornered with nowhere left to run and then all their troubles would be fixed. The man stood silently waiting for his troops to return with the evasive man. Instead, however, all that came forward was a man of lowly rank, hesitantly walking forwards; a book clutched tightly with clenched fingers.

"G-General Potter, he has once again escaped capture. All we could find was this book on the ground. I'm sorry sir." The man handed the book over and General Potter looked at the small violet covered book. His blood began to boil as he read the title of the book:

'Advanced Magic Book 8: Time Travel'

He looked at the book a second longer before throwing the offending item with an enraged roar.

* * *

In another time, a young man stepped out of a bright tear in the very fabric of time and space itself to find himself in a dimly lit alley way, with crates and boxes piled high, long forgotten. He could make out just down the street a pub with the name 'The Leaky Cauldron'.

Burning pain encompassed his whole being as he slipped down the wall, tire and exhausted. Thoughts ran wildly in his foggy mind, but one thought was the most predominant, _I'm the last one_, he thought, _I'm the last Shinigami, everyone else is dead. Everyone.._.

And with that last thought silent tears made muddy tracks down his pale face as he finally gave into the blissful darkness. He collapsed onto the ground behind the large boxes, his head of once white – now brown from dirt and mud – hair landed on the ground as Hitsugaya Toushirou fell into welcoming unconsciousness.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Well that's the end of the first chapter. Reviews would be much appreciated. Thank you


	3. Chapter 1

Wow! So many people read the start of my story. I didn't think many people would like it, but they do! Yay! I'm so happy, thanks guys. I would like to thank French Girl satsubatsu, kRyStAlt3aRz, candinaru25, randomismyname and RedSnowFalls for all reviewing, on my first chapter, you're like the first reviewers I have ever gotten on this sight to so far, so thanks heaps.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_"Taicho!" Matsumoto's whiny voice interrupted his paper. She lent casually across his desk and looked at him, as though asking him to answer whatever unspoken question was going through her mind. Well he didn't have time for her childish games, not today. He had a tonne of paperwork that needed to be done by that afternoon, doubled because of the fact that his extremely lazy lieutenant hadn't even signed one paper all day. _

_"Matsumoto, I don't have time for this, leave me alone to work in peace. Now!" He remained looking down, but he could tell that she was pouting._

_"But Taichoooo! This is really important!" He let out an irritated sigh and the surrounding temperature seemed to get slightly cooler. He was rapidly losing his patience and his temper._

_"What," he snapped, still working as he talked. He waited for Matsumoto to say something, anything, but she remained quiet. Now he was angry. How dare she come in and disturb him when he was actually doing his job, and then to just not say whatever was so important... He looked up prepared to give her a death glare. But what he saw was not his office, in fact he was no longer in his office. His surroundings had morphed and he was now sitting in the middle of a destruction zone, mess surrounding him._

_"Taicho," Matsumoto's voice rang clear through the air, sounding very eerie in the suddenly dark area. "Taicho, look at me."_

_His head snapped around until his eyes landed on Matsumoto. But it wasn't the Matsumoto from his office two seconds ago. Her skin was deathly white and her eyes were bloodshot; blood seeped out of many cuts and gashes along her porcelain skin. Her dirty hair hung mattered and knotted around her face. She reached up a hand and placed it on his arm._

_"Taicho, save me. You need to save everyone."_

_The previously deserted area was suddenly full of people who looked similar to Matsumoto in terms of the deathly state. He could make out Ichigo and Rukia, Unahana and even the Sou-Taicho, but worst of all he could see Hinamori, standing slightly apart from the rest, her eyes pleading yet unseeing as though blind._

_Everyone was walking forward reaching out to him, as though trying to gain warmth and comfort. Over and over again the words 'save me' and 'please' were repeated. He was slowly pushed backwards right into the arms of the man he hated most in the entire world, Aizen. Next to him stood his faithful lackey, his General. They both looked at him with sadistic smiles on their faces as Aizen slowly drew his sword and was about to thrust it into his side... and then it all went black._

* * *

Hitsugaya came to with a violent lurch. The dream had seemed so real, it was scary. Pain seared through his body as he slowly raised one blood encrusted hand to scratch his dirty face. His movements were sluggish and painful. But the physical pain wasn't nearly as bad as the emotional one. They were dead, and that weighed heavily on his heart, forcing him down until he didn't even know why he would want to get up in the first place; it would be pointless. What could he possibly do? He didn't even know if the spell had worked. He had tried to get as close to the starting year as he could, but if he was wrong, if he was even one year off, his efforts would have been for nothing, he wouldn't be able to save anyone. He closed his eyes to try and get some respite from his thoughts, but all he saw were images from his dreadful dream, replaying themselves on his eyelids forcing him to brave the daylight once again.

The year that he needed was the year in which Harry Potter was entering his fifth year. The name sat bitterly on his tongue, a bad taste he would never be able to get rid of. He hated the name, but even more so, he hated the person behind the name. If only the boy knew what a monster he was to become, would he be sick? Or would he just accept it? What type of person was he that he could turn so sour? The questions ran through his mind with no answers coming forth.

A plan of action was starting to formulate in his mind. He knew what he would probably have to do, but the very thought made his stomach turn. He had read many books during the war, and one of which was a book on Harry Potter and a person who went by the name of Voldemort. He couldn't quite remember what the book had said, but he did remember a chapter dedicated to this year, year one as it was sometimes called by the higher ups – this was the year that changed the course of the war. Apparently, according to the book Harry was slowly falling down the path of darkness, heading further and further away from the light, helped by the influence of this Dark Lord. The plan in his mind seemed simple enough:

Join Hogwarts for the year as a student in the fifth year and keep Harry on the path of the light and prevent him from becoming Aizen's faithful General.

It was easy and simple. All he had to do was make a mental checklist of all the things he would need to do and he would be ready.

25 years had passed and Hitsugaya had grown a bit, so he could easily pass as a 15 year old. That part of the plan could be mentally checked off.

Getting into Hogwarts was easy, all he had to do was make up a fake identity and school and enter as a foreign exchange student. Gaining access – check.

He already knew spells and potions expected from a fifth year. So that was also check.

Befriending and hanging out with Harry and his friends... That would be hard. The thought of doing it almost made him want to quit, but he knew that wasn't really an option. The next thing to do would be to actually get up and get moving. But try as he might, Hitsugaya just couldn't get up. He tried moving slightly, but the intense pain was too much for his already frazzled senses and he saw blackness start to creep along his vision. In a last ditch effort to stand before his vision completely gave out, he swung his body around, using his own weight as momentum and, ignoring the agonising pain, he managed to sit up. That was the wrong thing to do. Snap. Hitsugaya felt, not to mention heard, the small disks, already under immense pressure, at the small of his back crack and break. He couldn't help it. His dry lips parted to let the scream of pure agony escape before he fell roughly back onto the unforgiving ground, losing consciousness as he fell. By the time he was lying on the ground again, he was completely out cold.

* * *

Down the road in a small dingy pub, a bartender was mindlessly cleaning a mug, repeating the repetitive task over and over again. Even though it was very early in the morning with the dawn only just breaking the pub was strangely empty. The bartender, a man going by the name of Tom, however, didn't think it that strange. Crazy rumours had been flying around about You-Know-Who saying that he was attempting to regain his old body. Talk like that really did tend to make people want to stay inside and lock up all doors and windows, as though to block any evil presence from entering. Tom told himself that he thought it was complete hogwash. That he had never bought into any sort of rumour like that before, but inside he was slightly nervous about it, but this rumour was a real pain in the neck because it kept all his customers away.

He let out a sigh and looked around the dimly lit, empty room. There really was no point in cleaning the glasses as they had not been used, but the repetition of the familiar routine seemed to calm nerves which he didn't acknowledge. Tom was thinking about how dull it would be standing doing nothing all day – again – when he heard a scream. It was faint but it was so full of agony Tom himself felt as though it was him in pain. Screams like that were never heard around here, not since You-Know-Who's reign of terror. The shock of hearing it made him drop the glass he had been holding; the glass shattered on the floor scattering sharp fragments everywhere.

Now Tom was not a nosy person, but it wasn't like he was busy, so being a good person he slowly stepped outside his shop into the slightly better lit street. He looked up and down but saw nothing. Taking a few more cautious steps he walked down the street until he passed a little side alley. He usually wouldn't have stopped but there was something out of place among the dull coloured crates and boxes. It was like a shocking white mixed with brown patch barely visible, but definitely there, and definitely shouldn't have been there. He picked his way over and he could see just what it was that was hidden. And Tom knew that what he was looking at was what had made the scream earlier.

On the ground lay a boy of about 15 years of age with pale skin and thick, shocking white hair that appeared extremely dirty, caked in mud and dirt. His appearance was extremely uncommon and Tom was very tempted to just walk away and pretend that he had seen nothing if it hadn't have been for the sickly looking puddle pooled around the boy. It looked very much like blood. Tom had no idea how to handle situations like this, but he did know that this boy needed help now. He pulled out his cell and started to type in the emergency number on the small keypad when the boy cracked open one eye to reveal amazing blue-green eyes. _His looks just keep getting more and more uncommon, don't they_, Tom thought to himself. The boy looked as though he was trying to force his mouth into some kind of words so Tom knelt down closer to hear. The boy only managed to force out one word, but that word was enough for Tom to close his phone and conjure up a completely different method of communication. An owl appeared, and if there had been any witnesses they would swear that it came out of thin air. But luckily there were no witnesses about in this chilly morning air. Tom whispered something to the bird before it took flight, soaring up into the clouds, flying towards the destination it had been told to go to.

Tom studied the peculiar looking child. His looks said he was a foreigner, but they told not where he originated from. As far as Tom was aware, there was not a child from any country on this planet that looked at all similar to the boy lying in front of him. But Tom also knew looks could be deceiving. Times were getting darker, people were talking, rumours flying about, but most of all people were scared. It was as though they could feel a shift in the air, an underlying menace being inhaled with every breath. This boy could very well be an enemy. Tom knew every face of every student to enter Hogwarts in their first year, because they all pass through his pub to get to Diagon Alley. And he's sure he would remember this face, but he's never seen it before, which means he can't be attending Hogwarts, which means he most likely isn't a wizard, but that only made Tom nervous. If this child wasn't a wizard, how had he known the name which he had said out loud?

A small crack was heard, but it sounded thunderously loud, like a gunshot, in this quiet, deserted street. A tall man with silver hair and kind eyes stepped forward. He wore flowing robes of midnight blue and perched on his eyes were half-moon spectacles. He looked curiously at Tom's feet, to the boy behind, but then drew his eyes back u to look at the nervous bartender.

"Tom, what is it? How urgent is this, because I am in the middle of a very important meeting?" The newcomer's words were sharp, but they were spoken in a soft voice.

"And who, may I ask, is this child? He looks gravely injured." Concern sparked in his eyes as he glanced back down at the white haired-child.

"I don't know. I found him like this and I was about to call an ambulance when he woke up. He managed to say only one thing though." Tom paused for dramatic effect and the other man raised an eyebrow.

"Well..." The man said, trying to encourage Tom to continue.

"He said your name, Albus. He said 'Dumbledore'."

Both men turned to look at the boy and the man – Dumbledore – realised the implications of this.

"Well I guess we must get him to a hospital quickly, otherwise he may not wake up to answer our questions."

They talked for a few seconds longer before Tom turned around and headed back to his dingy pub, leaving Dumbledore alone with the boy. When Tom was gone Dumbledore knelt down and got out his wand. He said a few muttered incantations before scooping the surprisingly light boy up into his arms and then the two of them disappeared before reappearing in a clean, sterile white environment. Nobody in the waiting area seemed phased by the fact that a man carrying a child suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Nobody even looked up.

Dumbledore strode over to the receptionist and politely asked for a room and a doctor.

"I'm sorry sir but you need to wait in the waiting room just like everyone else..." Her voice was a high and annoying as she spoke. Her false nails clicked every time she pressed down a key on her keyboard. She had been typing as she spoke but she looked up as she finished to see who she was talking to.

"Oh, Professor Dumbledore, I'm so sorry, I didn't realise it was you, if you would please just go down the hallway and the third door on your left should be empty. A doctor will be with you shortly."

"Thank you." Dumbledore walked down the hallway to the room that the receptionist said to go to and opened the door. The room was indeed empty so he placed the bleed boy down on the bed. He seemed a bit short for his age, which looked about 15, and his pale skin and dirty white hair was quite curious. Dumbledore had never seen anyone quite like him. He would not have noticed if the boy didn't have this unworldly quality about him. There was something, but he couldn't quite place his finger on it...

"Professor Dumbledore, thank you for waiting." A severe looking lady walked in wearing a white coat and carrying a clipboard. Her features were sharp and highly defined and her black hair was pulled tightly back into a severe bun.

"Ah, Dr Winfield, it has been a long time. If you could look over this boy that would be very much appreciated."

Dr Winfield snapped her eyes to the figure on the bed and they widened ever so slightly. Dumbledore walked out of the room as she began her examination.

* * *

Dumbledore waited outside the room for an hour and a half before the doctor finally exited the room.

"Well, I must say Albus, that sure is an interesting child you have there. Any special reason for bringing him to St. Mungo's? I finished checking him over and frankly he should be dead. My biggest concern is the snapped vertebrae at the base of his spine, but his injuries are so extensive it was hard to see just how bad his condition. It doesn't help that he's covered in dirt and mud and goodness knows what else."

"Will he be aright though?" Concern once again flickered in the kind eyes as he thought back to the near dead boy.

"Only time will tell."

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Well there's another chapter of my story. I don't know if I should make chapters longer or shorter or just keep them the length I have now. What do you guys think? Please review, because that would just be awsome if you did!


	4. Chapter 2

Hi everyone, so this is the second chapter up, and the reviews and comments I've been getting are awesome (does anybody else love that word, or is it just me?) so thanks so much to everyone who reviewed. I know the story might seem a bit slow at the moment but that's because it's kind of like introducing people and establishing settings and all that stuff you know?

* * *

Chapter 2

He could smell disinfectant. The area had the whole sterile hospital smell that burned his nostrils. It surrounded and encompassed him, heavy blankets pressing him down, trying to suffocate him. Something stiff and itchy clung to him like a second skin and it felt very uncomfortable. But he recognised the feel of it; they were bandages, and from the feel of it there were a lot covering him. He tried to raise a hand but he couldn't. It was as though he was there but not really there. He felt the throbbing of painful injuries, but they were dull and distant somehow, like he was feeling it through somebody else. Muffled sounds could be heard around him – the soft beep! Beep! Beep! Of a heart monitor, feet shuffling around pushing things, picking up things. But they sounded as if they were passing through water to reach his ears. He didn't understand it. He knew that he must be in a medical facility of some sort – possibly Squad 4? – but the main question on his tongue was what happened? Had he been attacked by some sort of hollow, probably an arrancar or espada?

He quieted his thoughts and listened to surroundings again, trying to hear a familiar sound so he could place himself and hopefully what happened. He heard muffled voices speaking in low tones, but he didn't understand them, nor did they seem even remotely familiar. He had doubts that they were even speaking in Japanese, though it was hard to distinguish between the sounds they made and the other sounds in the room which seemed to have increased in volume. The more he concentrated on the conversation the louder everything became, until it was thunderous. The soft beep of the monitor now sounded like clashes of thunder and the shuffling feet scraped along the floor loudly. It kept getting louder and louder and he could feel the injuries becoming more and more painful. Knives were shoved repeatedly through his skull and his skin was alight in fire. It kept getting worse and worse. He couldn't concentrate on anything, he didn't even know who he was it was that intense. Pain and noise crashed down on him like waves on a beach, drenching him. The beeping sped up and the voices seemed somehow more urgent then they had previously. And then suddenly it stopped and he forced his heavy eyelids to open, almost to be shut again by the blinding white light around him. And it was then he remembered. He remembered everything. He wasn't in Squad 4, that was impossible because there was no more Squad 4. So if that was the case, where on Earth was he?

Hitsugaya groaned as memories pulled him down, but he forced himself to resurface and again looked around without moving his extremely stiff neck. He was definitely in some kind of hospital room, similar to the ones in the living world, but how did he get here. A face intruded in on his vision at that moment, peering intensely at him. She said something that he didn't understand, but there was one word he did, 'Dumbledore'. Realisation hit him as he remembered the alley way and his brief encounter with some grubby looking man holding a tee-towel. That man must have called Dumbledore and then must have brought him hear. That would mean that he would need to fabricate a story a lot sooner than expected and under the influence of some sort of drug. He could taste residue of the drug still at the back of his throat, but the taste wasn't familiar. That must have been what made him feel disjointed and unconnected with his body. Another face came into view and thankfully it was one he did recognise, only that it was slightly younger than the one that he was used to. It was Dumbledore and he looked quite concerned. Then it hit him that they were speaking in English, which means he was in England. Thankfully he got the location right; hopefully the year was right too.

Since they were speaking in English all Hitsugaya had to do was concentrate slightly and he would understand as he was quite fluent in the language.

"He's awake, but he doesn't seem to understand us. I've asked him the same question – How are you feeling? – five times now and he hasn't answered. How do you even know he even knows English?" The stern looking woman was speaking. She looked like she hadn't been outside for a long time because her skin was really pale. _People who say I'm pale obviously have never met this woman,_ Hitsugaya thought wryly. Dumbledore and the person Hitsugaya could only assume was a doctor continued to talk about his wellbeing, but strangely enough he felt fine. Not two minutes ago he felt agonising pain, but it was as though it had simply washed away, leaving him slightly exhausted and drained but overall fine. He opened his mouth to say something but all that came out was a groan; his throat too dry and thirsty to manipulate the words he wanted to say. As though sensing this Dumbledore left his field of vision and came back shortly with a plastic cup filled with the cold liquid. He held it up to Hitsugaya's lips for him and he drank the whole cup. It had been ages since he had been able to drink water that tasted so clean and it was heavenly. He had forgotten the simple pleasures which these people took so much for granted, like the water was actually cold and not lukewarm or hot. Dumbledore removed the cup and he and the doctor looked at him expectantly. Once again he opened his mouth and this time he felt the strength to be able to talk fill him. His words were a bit clumsy and awkward in his mouth as he had not spoken many words in months, and he had not spoken English for even longer.

"How did I get here?" The two adults seemed surprised that he had spoken in their own language as they had been sure that he was foreign with no grasp of their words. It was the doctor who spoke first.

"My name is Dr. Winfield and you are presently in a hospital room. This man brought you here from where he found you; you were quite hurt, how did you acquire your injuries?" Hitsugaya resisted the urge to roll his eyes. The description of his location had both been obvious and vague, but that didn't matter because he had a feeling that he was in St. Mungo's hospital. Why they had brought him here and not to a normal muggle hospital he did not know.

"I fell down the stairs," he said. He knew it was the lamest and most unbelievable excuse in the world but it was the best he could come up with in two seconds. The two opposite looked at him incredulously.

"You... fell down the... stairs?" Dr. Winfield seemed to say each word as though weighing their value. She looked at Dumbledore who motioned with his hands. Hitsugaya couldn't see what he did but a second later the doctor was leaving the room so he assumed Dumbledore was asking for some privacy. He pulled up a chair and sat down next to the bed.

"Now, we both know that you can't get that hurt from falling down stairs. You had broken bones all over the place – your arms, foot, ribs and even the base of your spinal cord was broken."

"They were pretty big stairs..." He trailed off as penetrating blue eyes looked at him, demanding the truth.

"It doesn't matter what happened to me, but I did need to speak to you sir."

"I know." The simple admission caught Hitsugaya off guard. How had he known?

"I see confusion on your face. No I am not some sort of mind reader. One of my friends found you in an alley and you said my name. That is why I am here and not my friend. This is a special hospital for special people." So he had been right, he was in St. Mungo's. "And I thought this place would cater more for your needs. But enough about that. You may speak to me if you wish, but first what is your name?" Hitsugaya hadn't realised that he hadn't even introduced himself yet.

"Hitsugaya Toushirou. I come from a magic school in Japan and I would like to become a foreign exchange student at Hogwarts." Dumbledore looked at him. He was impressed because the teen didn't beat around the bush, but slightly unnerved by what he wanted. Foreign exchange students usually had to go through a long and tedious process where a lot of paper work was involved. But this boy wanted to just walk right in. Dumbledore hadn't even known that there was a school in Japan.

"Oh, well, what school do you come from Mr Hitsugaya?"

He thought for a minute, trying to think of a completely plausible story and a believable fabrication of a school.

"Well it's special... I'm not really meant to talk about it but since I want to attend your school I guess I have to trust you. It's not like any other magic school and you probably haven't heard of it before – that's the aim – but it deals with... sword fighting mixed with magic. It teaches the same sort of syllabus but it prepares us for work in the... Special Forces and covert ops, because the government has deemed that anybody with magical abilities must work for them and there is no escaping it unless... you move to another country. That's why I'm here because I don't want to be part of the government system. The school I went to was called... Seireiti School of Magical Fighting." Hitsugaya took a breath and was quite proud of himself. He had thought of that story in under two seconds, making it up as he went along. He just hoped that Dumbledore didn't think that the idea was too lame or unbelievable and that he hadn't noticed the occasional slight pause.

Dumbledore, however, was in no way stupid. He knew that the story given to him was a lie and he seriously doubted that there was even such a school as Seireiti School of Magical Fighting, but he could sense much power brimming beneath the surface of the curious boy and so was willing to give him the benefit of the doubt, only because he wanted to see what the boy could do and also he wanted to keep an eye on him. There was something about him that set all of his senses into overdrive, telling him that this was a special person who needed his support, but also at the same time that he was dangerous and should be cast aside. Dumbledore had never experienced these conflicting emotions before and wondered what they meant.

"This certainly is an unusual situation that you have put me in Mr Hitsugaya, but right now I have a meeting I must return to. I shall take what you have said into consideration and get back to you with my answer. The best thing for you to do is to rest and get better. I will return shortly, good bye." With that Dumbledore stood up and walked out the door, closing it behind him.

There was something that seemed funny when he had talked to Dumbledore, something that had been said a couple of times, but Hitsugaya couldn't place what had been wrong. He thought about it for a few seconds, puzzled, but he couldn't think of an answer. So he moved onto the most pressing problem – movement. All the while when talking, he had been trying to gain some sort of movement anywhere in his body, but nothing would obey him. It was like somebody had come along and turned him into a statue. He focused on his right hand and started to concentrate, willing it to rise. He didn't know how long he stayed like that for, and anybody who saw him would think that he was insane, but after what felt like hours his index finger twitched. It was a small movement but i felt like a great victory. He had come to the conclusion that he was for some reason being held down magically, and that made him nervous. He had never liked being restricted or tied, and he especially didn't like it when he didn't know why he was being held. He slowly inched his concentration along his arm, not moving on until there was some form of movement in the area he was looking at.

By the time the doctor came back into the room, the sun shining through the window had been gone for ages and his entire right arm and the start of his left were free. The doctor wasn't the same one that had been in there early with Dumbledore – Dr Winfield was it? – and he had to admit that this doctor liked incompetent. He looked barely out of school with real boyish features on a round pudgy face. He checked vitals and made notes on a clipboard, all the while grinning like a maniac. When he was finished he dropped into the chair that Dumbledore had left by the bed.

"Hey there, I'm Dr Markus, but you can call me Shane if you want." His voice was almost worse than his face. It had the high quality to it that you usually only heard in young boys whose voices hadn't broken yet.

"I was looking at your charts and let me tell you, it was not good reading, if you know what I mean," _No, I don't_, thought Hitsugaya.

"Like, you were supposedly dead-like, and all mangled and broken, but you look fine to me."

_Go away, leave me in peace._ The guy's voice was starting to grate on his nerves. He had spent all day concentrating and now he just wanted to relax, but he couldn't because some 'friendly' doctor decided that he would keep him company. The boy continued to just drone on and on about random and useless stuff. It was annoying to say the least. It only got worse when the man started to talk about his extremely boring day, dramatising it and sometimes even doing sound effects. _Kill me now_.

"So, were you hungry, do you want something to eat?" It took him a few seconds before he realised that the doctor was speaking to him.

"What? Oh, no thank you, I'm not hungry." His stomach protested and growled as though to say liar. Thankfully 'Shane' didn't hear it.

"Well I've taken up so much of your time when you should have been resting. I'll try and swing by again tomorrow," _Please don't_, "but for now you rest Mr Toushirou, or can I call you Hitsugaya if that's all right?" He looked expectantly at the teen in the bed. Hitsugaya's eyes widened slightly as he realised something. He mumbled out a yes and a good night so the teen would leave and then he thought. Dumbledore had repeatedly called him 'Mr Hitsugaya', but in Western culture the name that came first was the given name and the second was the family name, but his name was reversed. He _was_ Mr Hitsugaya, but Dumbledore shouldn't have known that. He should have done what the man had done and called him 'Mr Toushirou'. It was puzzling to say the least, what did it mean? But right now, Hitsugaya was tired so he let himself drift off to sleep...

* * *

The door creaked open as Dumbledore entered the decrepit looking house that was number 12 Grimmauld Place. He strode over to the closed kitchen door and walked confidently into the meeting that had been in full swing, but abruptly stopping upon his entry. All faces seemed to relax when they saw who it was. His eyes briefly glimpsed over all the members of the order – The Order of the Phoenix – who were seated around the rough table. There was Sirius Black at the head of the table leaning across Tonks about to speak to Mad-Eye Moody who in turn was sitting next to Arthur Weasley. Severus Snape sat the furthest away from anyone and was in a very polite conversation with Remus Lupin. He saw the twins, Fred and George, whispering to each other, most probably plotting some dastardly deed. Lastly, he saw Molly Weasley fussing over the three youngest non-members of the order, her youngest son Ron, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter.

Everyone in the room waited patiently for Dumbledore to finish his brief survey of the room before he drew up a chair and sat down. They all waited for him to speak, and when they realised that he had no intention of doing so, Sirius was the first to break the silence.

"So... What was so important that you had to leave the meeting early? I mean you weren't gone very long."

Dumbledore thought for a moment before deciding carefully what he was about to say. "I had to meet a very... special person who shall be coming to Hogwarts this year as an exchange student." Complete silence settled over the group. They thought that Dumbledore hadn't looked too sure when he talked about this exchange student. But there were more important things to discuss than some kid, namely Voldemort. It was once again Sirius who broke the silence.

"Ok, so back to the matter on hand. We know that Voldemort is trying to come back and is trying to regain his body. But I just don't see how that's possible. I mean he had the best chance at the end of last year, when he tried to use Harry's blood and the bones of his father, plus other unimportant objects. But since someone, most likely the muggles, had exhumed the body for some kind of scientific research, Voldemort really was up the creek without a paddle. And that spell is the only one that I know of that can let him regain his body. There is absolutely no way humanly possible that he can come back to his former human self. Does anybody else have anything to say?"

At Sirius's words, there were many nodding heads in agreement, but a few were shaking, not agreeing with him at all. One being Severus Snape. The oily haired teacher opened his mouth but everyone else was speaking rapidly, trying to voice their opinions on the matter. To get their attention he slammed his hand down on the desk and it immediately quieted everyone down.

"Yes Sirius, what you say is true, last year was the Dark Lord's best chance to regain humanity, but just because you don't know of any other way does not mean that they do not exist. You do not know everything. There are probably hundreds of ways to make a synthetic body that his soul can inhabit. I mean the body is just a vessel which harbours our souls, what does what the vessel is made out of? Or maybe he could steal another persons' body through magic? There are more ways to gain a body than just one. We are thinking too much inside the square." Everyone was quiet as they contemplated the implications of what Snape had said. He was talking about creating a body, essentially an empty shell, for Voldemort to use. If that was the case he could make it look like anything he wanted and they would lose him before he began his reign of terror, but by then it would be too late.

Sirius started to laugh. It started quiet and then built up into a hearty laugh; many others joined in with him. Only Snape himself, Dumbledore, Hermione and Harry remained quiet.

"That _Snivellus_ is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard in my entire life. Making a body? How many movies do you watch? This is real life; those kinds of things aren't possible. So pull your head out of lala land and help think of what we should do to make the public aware that Voldemort's trying to return."

The argument continued as Harry turned to Hermione.

"Hey, Hermione," he whispered quietly so that no-one, not even Ron, could hear. "Is it possible? I mean what Snape was saying, is it possible?" Hermione worried her bottom lip before replying hesitantly. "I'm not sure. I've never heard of it before, and when you think about it, it does sound kind of outlandish, but... I just don't know. When we go to Hogwarts in three weeks I'll look it up in the library. If there is something on the topic that's the place I'll find it."

"Ok, thanks Hermione."

The argument continued on for another fifteen minutes before Molly decided to put an end to it.

"This is getting us nowhere. We shouldn't be fighting; we should be planning and standing united against our enemy. But anyways, I think that it's high time that everyone gets some rest, it's been a long day for most of us, and I know I for one would love to go to bed." There were murmurs of agreement as the meeting adjourned and everyone left to go to their separate sleeping quarters. Dumbledore bade the group goodnight before heading back to St Mungo's to tell a particular boy that he had granted his request to enter as an exchange student.


	5. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Everything was bright and colourful, sounds whirling about intoxicating all of your senses. It was nauseating. People stopped to chat with each other just for the sake of chatting, even if they sometimes didn't even know the person with whom they were talking with. But even worse than the sound and the lights and the colour was the heat. Heat seemed to radiate from every brick in the wall, every stone in the pavement and every person that passed him. But unusually enough nobody noticed. Hitsugaya hated it here. He had only been in this terrible street for fifteen minutes, but to him that was fifteen minutes way too long. He was currently standing at the entrance to the bright street with a ridiculous name – What was it again? Diagon Alley? – and he had been standing there ever since he arrived, unwilling to enter into the boiling mob. Dumbledore had told him just over two weeks ago – almost three – that his 'application' to enter Hogwarts had been accepted and he was then forced to stay in the sterile environment of the hospital until this morning. Even though he was perfectly fine the doctors wanted to keep him in the hospital for as long as they could, but apparently buying school items was more important than his wellbeing because they finally let him escape. He would've rather to have stayed in the hospital; at least there it had been quiet and air-conditioned.

The list of items that he needed to buy with his none existent money was clutched in his hand. He hadn't even thought about how he would buy things, but that was a problem that needed sorting out and fast, because without money he was stuck.

Many people stared as they passed him but he ignored them. He knew that his appearance would draw a lot of attention – it almost always did – but even he wasn't prepared for the blatant disregard of respect shown towards him. He saw one kid pointing openly with his mouth hanging open wide before his mother dragged him into an open store muttering what sounded like "Freak".

He opened his hand and skimmed down the list. He needed everything except for the wand; he already had one of those. His face contorted into a grimace as he saw the words 'school uniform' written in a flowing script. He hated school uniforms, and he knew what the Hogwarts uniform looked like and it definitely was not to his taste. He doubted if it was to _anybody's_ taste.

Taking a breath and letting it go as a sigh, Hitsugaya finally stepped into the hustle and bustle of the street. His mind was working quickly as he thought of how to get money. And then he realised that he could make some. It was completely illegal but it was really the only option he had. With this in his head Hitsugaya looked for an out of the way place where nobody was around. _Where nobody's around, ha, and pigs can fly,_ he thought as he looked around. He had heard a lot about this place during the war but he had never been here before. But from what he had heard the street that was at the moment so full of life was dead; a ghost street, with buildings bombed and destroyed, abandoned long before the attack was held in the street. Many Shinigami died in this street and that thought filled him up with sadness.

Shaking his head he noticed a small side street with no post saying the name. As he drew closer he saw that the sign had been ripped out of the ground as though not to mar Diagon Alley. Escaping down the street and out of Diagon Alley was a relief. This new street that he was in must have had some kind of muting spell on it because he could no longer hear the sounds of the previous street. He slowly walked forward, the hairs on the back of his neck raised. He had the feeling that someone was watching him – or maybe it was a lot of someone's. The eyes stayed with him as he drew more into the darkness and then he heard movement. It was only a tiny noise, but it was still a noise, the first one he had heard in this eerie street.

Suddenly out of the shadows stepped an old lady with so many wrinkles it looked like she was wearing an old leather coat or something like that. He couldn't help but feeling revolted by her. She stepped close to him and raised a gnarled hand to his face. He flinched back and took a couple of steps backwards trying to find the entrance of the street that led back out onto Diagon Alley. There was a reason someone had removed the signpost with the streets name on it, and he definitely got the feeling that he was _not_ meant to be here at all. But it was too late. More shadowed figures stepped out of the shadows to surround him. They drew closer trying to touch him as though to draw his warmth. It felt familiar, this whole situation. The group around him looked half starved and near death, many of them just skin and bones. They were hungry and dangerous. That was his conclusion. The old woman was really close now and he could smell her breath which stank of years of bad breath. But as revolted as he was, he was compelled to stay there, to not attack and run out of this horrible place. He was fascinated by the people and he had no idea why. That is until he remembered what the situation reminded him of. His dream. The memory seemed to break some sort of spell and he felt feeling return to his muscles and he immediately leapt forward, knocking over anyone who got in his way. He ran until he burst back into the brightly lit, hot street and he wondered to himself, which street was worse?

After all that he still had no money. He continued to walk and the sun moved from its position in the sky in a downwards angle until it was close to evening. He had wasted almost a whole day and he had to go to Hogwarts in two days. Tired and hungry he trudged over to an empty seat and sat down heavily. There were less people in the street and it wasn't as bright as night descending down, and with the night it brought a cool breeze which played across his face. This was better. When he opened his eyes again it was even darker and there was no one around. He slowly stood up to work out the kinks in his lower back and stretched. He had promised to return to St Mungo's when he had finished shopping. Oh well.

He drew out a piece of wood from his jacket pocket and held in his hand. Now was as good a time as any to start making money, what with the street being deserted. He sat down again, but this time on the spotless ground. He looked at the piece of wood he was holding for a moment. Even he had to admit that it was beautiful. A lot of care and devotion had been placed in it and even though it wasn't his weapon of choice, he didn't mind using it all that much. He remembered near the start of the war when the wizards had joined, the Shinigami had been in a lot of trouble. They were the superior fighters in every way, but the wizards were cowardly and could summon spells to bind and attack and even to kill that the Shinigami had never even heard of. It had been the one true advantage that they had held. That was until Mayuri had worked out the science behind wands. It was really quite simple. All the wand did was harness the unstable spirit particles in the air, focussing it through the wood. Not as effective or as clean as kidou, but it could still be very powerful. The Sou-Taicho had deemed the advantage to be void as Shinigami already used spirit particles to attack. However, it wasn't enough and that was when the Shinigami started training with wands. Not everyone did, some either preferred to try their luck with kidou or you got people like Zaraki and Ikaku who used only their swords. But Hitsugaya had been among the ones that had jumped at the chance to gain the upper hand. He had practised with this little piece of wood almost as much as he practised with his Zanpaktou. That was probably the reason why he had become the best magic user among the Shinigami.

He continued to look at his wand, enthralled by its beauty. It was a light brown colour, but the handle was a soft, powdery ice blue that seemed to extend delicate tendrils along the wand, some almost reaching the end, others not even stretching too far passed the handle. It had been voted the most beautiful wand in all of Seireiti and he could see why.

He finally pulled himself out of his thoughts and focussed on the task at hand. Making money was easy enough, so he worked steadily through the night. By the time the first rays of dawn were lazily stretching out passed the horizon line, Hitsugaya had accumulated a small fortune in the gold and silver currency. He placed every last coin into a drawstring bag and waited for the shops to open, hopefully before the crowd came.

* * *

The shops didn't start opening for another couple of hours and it was as though everyone knew the exact time that they would open because everyone started to appear as soon as the first shop opened. Hitsugaya stood up and dusted himself off, ignoring the ever present stares. He looked at the list of items that he would need and headed for the shop where he would buy his uniform.

Inside it was nice and cool if not a little bit cluttered. He carefully picked his way around material and stools before coming to an empty counter. He stood patiently until it became apparent that nobody was going to serve him. Feeling his patience slip away he rapped his knuckles on the counter and called out "hello". A woman entered through a back door that he hadn't even noticed and looked at him. He waited and then cleared his throat. She seemed to snap out of whatever she had been thinking and grabbed a tape measure.

"Hogwarts uniform is it darling?" He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. _Duh_. He nodded his head and before he knew it the tape measure rose as though with a mind of its own before winding itself around his torso. He looked on in fascination as the tape continued to take measurements.

"So what year will you be in love?" The terms of endearment were starting to get on his nerves.

"Fifth," he said trying to refrain from talking to the irritating woman as much as possible.

"Oh, I don't remember seeing you here before. And I would like to think I would remember a face like yours." Hitsugaya didn't know whether that was an insult or not, but even so he managed to answer.

"I'm an exchange student; I've never been to Hogwarts before." He silently willed the tape measure to go faster as the woman continued with her chatter. Why must he always be surrounded by annoying, talkative people? As though hearing his thoughts the tape measure finished up and fell lifelessly to the ground.

"Ok, so I'll just make you a uniform right up and it will be ready in an hour or so. You can pay when you come back." She added the last comment as a sort of afterthought when she saw him reach for his money bag.

"Arigato," he said without really thinking and the look he received was one of mild curiosity. "Um, I mean thank you." He left the shop without looking back.

For the next hour and a half Hitsugaya walked around buying everything on his list – excluding the pet, like he didn't have enough to think about, he didn't need to add the well-being of an animal to that list. After everything was bought he made his way back to the uniform shop – Madam Malkin's Robes for all occasions – lugging his heavy cauldron behind him.

This time when he entered the shop he noticed that there were other customers. There were a few people browsing through materials comparing colours and patterns, and there was a few people being measured. He dragged his cauldron as he approached the counter. Once again it was empty. He was about to knock like he did last time when he saw the shop keeper measuring someone. She looked over and saw him.

"Oh, you're back. Just give me a tick and I'll get your uniform for you. I left it in the back storage room; you wouldn't want to go to school without it." The boy whom she was measuring sneered at him. The other boy had blonde hair and seemed slightly familiar, but he couldn't place the face. He had slightly angular and sharp features and he looked as though he might be taller than Hitsugaya, but in truth that wasn't really that hard. Even though he may have grown and looked as though he could be fifteen, he was still on the shorter side of fifteen. The boy opened his mouth to speak.

"School? Are you talking about Hogwarts? You look a bit too old to be in the first year, don't you think?" Hitsugaya immediately hated him. He spoke with such an air of self importance as though he thought himself superior. Hitsugaya just half smirked.

"Yeah, I'm going to Hogwarts, but, even though it's of no concern to you, I'll be in the fifth year. I'm an exchange student from Japan." The sneer remained in place on the other boys face.

"You're Japanese? Well that would explain your ridiculous appearance. I knew you couldn't be from a good country – I bet you're not even pure-blood are you? Oh by the way, the name's Malfoy; you'll probably want to remember that name."

Hitsugaya couldn't believe this boy's arrogance. And what did he mean by pure-blood, wasn't all blood the same? Hitsugaya kept his smirk in place; if this boy wanted to think he was better than him, he had another thing coming. Just as he opened his mouth to retort, the shop-keeper came back with his uniform.

"There you are, that'll be 5 galleons. Thanks a lot and have fun at Hogwarts." She practically pushed him out of the shop after she had got his money. It was as though she could sense the beginnings of a fight and didn't want it to happen in her store. Oh well, there was plenty of time for it at Hogwarts. Hitsugaya still couldn't believe Malfoy's arrogance. He knew he shouldn't broad on it and just forget it, but what kind of person could be that arrogant. He only knew one person who was like that, but he couldn't quite remember the person's name... It would come to him.

Having finished shopping, Hitsugaya was looking for a bench which he could sit down on. The day was once again almost coming to a close and soon he would have to start heading towards Kings Cross Station to get to platform 9 ¾, that in itself was weird, when did people start putting fractions in their platform names? Still deep in thought Hitsugaya didn't notice two people walking straight towards him. They were obviously not paying attention to where they were going as well and the result was them all crashing into each other. Hitsugaya, being only one person against two much taller people was the one to find himself on the ground of the street, his cauldron next to him with its contents spilling out. The bruise on the base of his spine flared sending shooting pains along his back – maybe he did leave the hospital a bit too early. He had thought it had been completely healed, but apparently the doctors were nowhere near as skilled as those in division 4.

"Sorry mate didn't see ya there, want some help up?" Hitsugaya looked up and felt a wave of dizziness hit him as his vision split into two – he was seeing double. There was a person extending his hand with an idiotic grin on his face with a mop of bright red hair that could rival Renji's any day covering his forehead. Then one of the visions moved forward while the other stayed in the exact same place. That wasn't right. If he was seeing double then both visions would have moved in sync. Then it was then that he realised he wasn't seeing double, he was in fact looking at two identical people.

"He's not responding George, maybe you hit him so hard he's like dazed." The second person stood up properly and dropped his hand.

"Me? I wasn't the one who ran into him, it was you!" They continued to bicker good-naturedly as Hitsugaya silently picked himself up off the ground as the two twins forgot about him. He started to clean up his cauldron and school supplies when one of the twins noticed him again.

"Oh yeah, forgot about you. Hey you look like you have a headache," he said smiling at his brother. The second twin looked confused at first and then his face split into a wide grin mirroring his brothers, and for some reason Hitsugaya felt as though that grin would bring nothing but trouble to him.

"You know, we have the perfect cure for headaches – in fact we have a remedy for any ailment that you have – and more. Why don't you come with us and we'll help you out." The last thing he wanted to do was to accompany these obviously insane people, but the matter was taken out of his hands as one of the twins grabbed his cauldron and the other, much to his horror, practically picked him up and started to drag him to some out of the way place. They were talking to each other in low whispers which a normal ear wouldn't have been able to pick up, but Hitsugaya was no normal human, so he easily heard their conversation, and it did nothing to lighten his mood. They were talking about things like a 'Fever Fudge' and 'Fainting Fancies' and Hitsugaya frankly did not want to be around when they decided what they would try to sell him. The twins finally found a place that they thought would be suitable for their 'dealings' and placed Hitsugaya and his stuff down. They looked at him for a second before they jumped into sales person mode. But just as they were about to speak Hitsugaya cut them off.

"I have no interest in any product that you wish to sell me, so don't even try, and no I don't care how persuasive you try to be, I will not ever be swayed."

Two identical freckled faces looked shocked. They had never been out and out rejected like that before, even their brother's best friend Hermione had listened to their sales pitch, and as they stood shocked Hitsugaya calmly walked away dragging his gear behind him, thinking that would be the end of that. But he did not know the twins in which he had been speaking to. Hitsugaya presented them with a challenge and they liked challenges. He had said he would never be swayed by them, but never was a long time and as the twins knew, it only took some persuading and a lot of annoyingness to change a person's mind.

"Hey Fred," one red head turned to the other.

"Yeah George?"

"Did you see what he had with him? If my guess is correct, we'll be seeing more of our white-haired friend at school, and he so looks like he would love to buy something from us but is unsure if he should do so," George said with a scheming smile. "We should probably help him decide."

The other twin smiled as well. The twins were like a dog with a bone when presented with a challenge, and before the year was up the new student would be begging for Fred and George to sell him something.

* * *

Meanwhile, Hitsugaya walked through the crowded streets of Diagon Alley, the terrible duo already out of his mind. Dusk was starting to fall, yet there were still a lot of people around, unlike last night. He paid them no mind though as he walked to the entrance of the Alley. He needed to get to King's Cross Station and as he had no clue as to where it was he would have to leave now so that he could look for it. The idea of walking through a crime-ridden London, dragging a heavy cauldron packed full of things so he was able to attend a magic school, with looks that always attracted stares no matter where he went, was in way an enjoyable one. However, it was necessary. With a sigh he exited the alley – _and not too soon_, he thought – and stepped into the dingy pub that was the 'Leaky Cauldron'. He slowly walked through the pub as people stopped conversations just to look at him. It really was getting old, it wasn't as though they had never seen a person with white hair – all they had to do was look at an old person!

When he left the pub the cool night air instantly encompassed him. It was chilly and brisk, and most people hated it, but Hitsugaya loved it. Anything warmer was bordering on uncomfortable for him. At least his walk wouldn't be totally bad, and he could only hope that he didn't run into any shady characters.

As he walked the streets of London, he soon realised that his wish would go unanswered, because it seemed as though every person on the street was a shady character and it was only a matter of time before someone came up to him. It happened when he was walking through a back alley. He had seen a sign pointing to King's Cross Station and he thought that this way would serve as a sort of shortcut. However, at the end of the run-down alley was a man huddled over an impromptu fire in a can. As Hitsugaya neared, the man looked up and stared at him with one eye – the other eye was closed over as large slash scar ran down from his hairline to just below the eye. The man looked like he had been in a fight many times and never once won.

Hitsugaya kept walking, not making eye contact, and the man just sat there. It wasn't until he was level with the man that he heard movement. When he next looked he was pinned against the wall with a knife pressing against his throat. Up close the man looked almost as frightening as Zaraki, with the same sort of crazed look in his eye. However, Hitsugaya was in no way intimidated. The man may think he had the upper hand; it wasn't like he hadn't gotten out of worse situations.

The temperature dropped suddenly, sending a bout of cold air through the narrow alley. Instinct took over as he grabbed the wrist of his attacker, holding it in a death grip and watching the pain across the larger man's face before a loud _snap!_ was heard. The knife clattered to the ground and the man looked into cold, unforgiving aqua eyes. He never used to be so cold towards an attacker, but years of war had hardened him and he had learnt the hard way that any attacker was your potential murderer. Hitsugaya swiftly brought up his knee into the man's gut and then punched his face. Blood seeped down from a broken nose and the man crumpled onto the ground clutching his stomach. Hitsugaya could have left then, but as he looked down on the man who had thought a child would be easy prey, he felt disgusted. Next time it wouldn't be him who was attacked by this man, it would be some other unsuspecting person who probably wouldn't have the same luck he had and would find themselves at the bottom of some river before daybreak.

Deciding on a course of action Hitsugaya brought his hand up, a faint blue light gathering at his finger tips. Ice then started to play along his arm as the light in his hand intensified. He slowly lowered his hand until it was on the unconscious man's back and let the charge from his hand sink into the skin. It was silent, painless, untraceable and completely deadly. The man was dead before Hitsugaya finished standing up. He grabbed his cauldron and continued on his way. _At least that's one less scum on the streets,_ he thought as he briefly glanced back at the body. He felt a small twinge of guilt. Had it been necessary to kill him? He had already immobilised, why hadn't that been enough? He shook his head as though to clear away the thoughts; he had been justified, he was protecting other people from a heartless killer. The man had not suffered and everyone would be better for it.

With this reasoning he walked forward with a clear conscious.

* * *

Back in the alley a cloak swished as the silent observer turned and walked away. As they walked they pulled out a cell phone and dialled three numbers. The phone on the other end rang three times before it was picked up.

"Hello, emergency service."

"I need a police car at junction alley on Caledonian Road, there's something there that I'm sure you'll find very interesting." The person hung up before listening to a reply and continued to walk away from the scene of the crime.

* * *

Hitsugaya was pleasantly relieved to find that he was actually quite close to King's Cross Station. The best thing about the station was that it was open 24/7, so he walked into the nicely air-conditioned place and went to find a chair where he would finally be able to rest for a short time before finding his platform.

* * *

Hey, so I finally updated! Sorry for the long wait, but I had so many yearly exams it's not even funny (like it was funny to begin with!) but yeah that's why it's taken so long and hopefully the next chapter doesn't take nearly as long because I am now officially test free for the rest of the year! YAY! :D The reviews I got for the last chapter were so awsome, I just love reviews, so if you wanted you could just press that little button at the bottom and leave a review, and that would be much appreciated :)


	6. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Hitsugaya sat on the bench for close to two hours. When the sun rose above the horizon line bathing the city of London in the soft, warm light of dawn he stood up and stretched his slightly stiff muscles. He looked down at his cauldron stuffed full of his school supplies when a realisation dawned on him: he would need a school trunk and spare non-school uniform clothes, plus anything extra he would probably need like a toothbrush. Groaning and looking up at the large clock hanging down from the ceiling he worked out that he would have about three and a half hours to get everything he would need and be back in time to board the train – and he still had no idea where Platform 9 ¾ was. He was going to cut it very close.

He spotted a trolley bay, and snagging one he loaded his cauldron onto it and started to push it towards the front doors. Hopefully security wouldn't notice the white-haired boy casually stealing their trolley. As he left the station he was immediately pulled into a very large, busy mob of people going in every direction, pushing and shoving to get to their destinations in as little time as possible. This made navigating the streets ten times harder – also the fact that he didn't know where the shops were nor had any idea where he would start looking made it even harder, bordering on impossible. But Hitsugaya Toushirou didn't do impossible, so picking a direction he pushed through the mob and looking for any signs of a shop.

The morning wore on long and uneventful. Two hours had passed and Hitsugaya had only managed to buy the bare toiletry necessities – including a toothbrush, towels, shampoo and conditioner, soap and a brush. He still was yet to find a decent clothes store. As the morning had had progressed the already crowded streets – if possible – got even fuller as more people joined the crowd. And then he saw it. It was a mall and as he knew from the countless times that Matsumoto had dragged him to the hated places mall's sold clothes. It was like a godsend.

The mall was massive. Hitsugaya stood in the entrance to what was probably the largest shopping complex he had ever been to in his long life, with his stolen trolley to his side. A small smile graced his features as he took in the numerous stores, but then he remembered he was on a time limit and time was very quickly running out. So without further ado, he pushed his trolley to find a good shop.

He visited shop after shop after shop, his trolley getting slightly more full after each shop until it was packed full with no possibility of fitting even one more item in. Inside said trolley he inspected a beautiful ornate oak trunk and more clothes than he probably needed – but you never know what will happen, so it's best to be prepared, and also it wasn't like he could wear the same thing week in and week out for a year. That thought sobered him up. Until this moment he had nearly forgotten why he was here, too giddy with new experiences, but he had a mission and more likely than not it would take a whole year to complete. His hands balled into fists, his knuckles straining white against the skin. The air-conditioned air seemed to become even cooler than before, the temperature dropping ever so slightly.

_Stop it! You have more control over yourself than this, get a grip!_ The temperature rose back to what it had been before. It seemed nobody had noticed what had happened for which he was glad, and he was happy that he was able to control himself before the full force of unwanted memories had hit him, because if that had happened a lot of people would probably have been frozen solid. He let out a calming breath and looked at the clock in the mall and he stopped dead. He only had 15 minute left to get back to King's Cross Station, find 9 ¾ and board the train. How had he let time slip away like that? Actually, a better question would be how did he let himself get into this position in the first place? He should have been more prepared and bought everything yesterday and a day before today, and now he would have to rush to make the train in time. It really was not his day today.

Ignoring dirty looks and words sent his way, Hitsugaya pushed through the crowds at a fast pace with his trolley, bursting out into the bright sunshine in the street. He was consciously aware of the time slowly trickling away, so much so that it was almost like a rhythmic _tick, tick_, in his head. He practically ran through unsuspecting shoppers as he tried to retrace his steps. As he ran he cursed himself for what was happening, but the bright side was that he had bought almost everything he would need, and anything else could be bought while at school. He saw the station dead ahead and he just knew that he would make it in time and that everything would be fine. But unfortunately for Hitsugaya luck was not on his side and as he burst into King's Cross Station he realised the hopelessness of it all. There was one minute left until the train departed and he didn't even know where the stupid platform was! It was ridiculous to even have expected to make it in time, but he had seriously thought that he would. As he stood in his own self misery for what seemed like hours but in reality was only seconds he noticed something unusual. It was like a tingling sensation running through him, not unpleasant but definitely weird. What was it? He hesitantly walked forward and the tingling increased. It seemed to be caused be a seemingly innocent looking brick wall... third on after Platform 9 and the one before Platform 10 – tree quarters of the way between Platforms 9 and 10. He was an idiot; of course the wizards would want to protect their Platform from non-wizards. He walked up to the wall and raised his hand and pressed against the wall. But his hand never came into contact with the solid mass, instead going straight through. Without a second thought he stepped through to see a large sign reading Platform 9 ¾. He smiled to himself – he had made it just in time. That smile however, was instantly wiped off his face when he noticed the train start to move ever so slowly. This was _not_ his day.

"Oh no you don't," he growled softly to himself before racing forward. "Wait!" A man had been standing on the step in front of one of the train doors about to go in when he saw the late student running towards him. Confusion briefly ran across his face before he realised that the student needed to be on the train, not running up to it. When Hitsugaya drew level with the train, which was still at a snail's pace, he looked at the man before speaking.

"Um, yeah, so I got up late, is there any way I can get on the train?" The boy spoke as he ran, not even sounding the slightest out of breath. The shocked man took a second to reply.

"I guess you should just... throw your stuff up to me and then jump on yourself." This situation was clearly above his pay-grade and Hitsugaya suppressed the urge to roll his eyes; the suggestion of stopping the train hadn't even been acknowledged. He awkwardly grabbed his trunk with one hand while still pushing the trolley. It was quite an amazing feat, one which should have been impossible, but the man didn't show any extra surprise, probably because extra surprise would just break his face in half. Hitsugaya was just glad that he had the foresight to pack everything into his trunk before leaving the mall. He next grabbed his cauldron, abandoning the trolley which proceeded to roll under the wheels of the train. _Whoops._ He threw the cauldron up and once again the man caught it. Now with his entire luggage on the train Hitsugaya got ready to jump up when the train sped up. It was now gaining speed quite rapidly and he had a hard time keeping up. _Damn it!_ He would not be foiled by a stupid train. He had come too far to be defeated by something as simple as the speed of a train. So with this in mind, Hitsugaya did what no human would ever be capable of – he jumped up high into the air and crashed onto the side of the train, the air in his lungs momentarily knocked out. Once he could breathe normally again he scaled the train side looking for a door, but he couldn't find one. The train had long since left the station and was travelling through what looked to be the outskirts of London. And then he saw it. _It_ being a very narrow tunnel that would kill him if he stayed on the side of the train like this. God, this situation was ridiculous! What was up with today? The tunnel was rapidly approaching and Hitsugaya wouldn't be able make it to a door in time and he really didn't come all this way to die on the side of a train like some kind of insect. So he did the next best thing – he found a window and he smashed through it; hopefully the room would be empty – and he did so not a moment too soon, because as soon as he went through the window the train entered the tunnel. He slowly stood up, glass crunching underfoot and he knew that he shouldn't have hoped for an empty room, luck was not something he was having a lot of today. The room's occupants stared at him with wide, shocked eyes as they looked at this strange looking boy that had come in through the window. There were three people – two girls and one boy. One of the girls had extremely bright red hair and she vaguely reminded him of the two twins that he'd met in Diagon Alley. The boy was gaping openly and his eyes were blinking way too much to be normal, Hitsugaya just hoped he wasn't going to have a heart attack and die – this situation was already hard enough to explain. The third person however, looked at him with strange blues eyes filled with curiosity. He wasn't surprised that she was the first to break the long awkward silence.

"Hello, you do realise that there's a perfectly good door right there don't you? Why did you enter through the window?" Her voice was as peculiar as the rest of her, with an odd airy quality to it. Not really knowing what to answer, he said the first thing that he could think of.

"I was late and missed the train; decided that it would be best to actually arrive _on_ the train and so I hitched a ride on the side. But when the tunnel got closer, I realised that I needed to be in the train or I would probably have been squashed between a few tonnes of metal and a few tonnes of concrete." His explanation did nothing to lighten the mood. If anything it seemed to make it even worse, as though they were expecting him to say 'kidding!' and give them a better, more reasonable explanation. Because to them it was impossible for someone to have been able to hold onto the outside of the train and not lose their grip what with the high speeds the train was travelling at. When Hitsugaya didn't say anything like that and instead sat down, they realised, as impossible as it may be, that he was telling the truth.

"Uh... Hi, I'm Ginny Weasley and this is Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood." Hitsugaya glanced at the red head speaking and then at the two people who she had just introduced. When he looked at the boy named Neville he sputtered and managed a small "h-hi," before quickly averting his eyes from the intimidating person. Hitsugaya nodded slightly at Ginny to acknowledge her before briefly stating his name.

"Hitsugaya Toushirou." He turned away from her and stared out the glassless window, hoping that she would recognise the dismissal. Apparently she wasn't stupid and neither were the other two because they all ignored him and an uncomfortable silence descended upon them.

They sat like this for around half an hour before the silence was broken by someone opening the door.

"Bloody hell! What happened?" Hitsugaya glanced up to see a tall red head who bore a striking resemblance to Ginny. There were also two people behind him but he couldn't quite see who they were. The tall boy looked around, his gaze taking in the broken glass scattered on the floor, the nervous looks on Ginny's and Neville's faces, the glassless window, and then finally resting on Hitsugaya. Their eyes locked and he it was a mini-staring contest of sorts before the other boy broke it off. Hitsugaya smirked inwardly, he never lost a staring contest, no matter who the opponent.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" He advanced forward in what he tried to be a menacing manner before Ginny – who he had gathered to be a relation of the boy – grabbed his arm stopping him in mid swagger. Hitsugaya slightly raised his eyebrows at his extremely poor attempt at an intimidating gangster walk.

"Ron, stop it," Ginny said to the boy Ron. As he walked further into the room the two people behind him walked in and his heart stopped. The temperature dropped drastically as Hitsugaya – his expression unchanged – laid eyes on his sole reason for being here; one of the people he hated most in the whole world, Harry Potter. Images unexpectedly stole into his head as he looked at the boy, but his eyes seeing only the man.

_Hitsugaya watched as he was held back, the arm of a despicable espada holding him in place. He could see Aizen casually sitting on his throne of white watching the scene before him. He essentially had at his mercy himself and half of his division, after being captured on a scouting raid in Hueco Mundo. It had taken nearly five espada to bring him down, but now he was held by only one as a complex magical binding held him at bay. The caster of the spell stood off to the side just in front of the dais on which Aizen's throne rested – General Harry Potter. Green eyes blazed in the darkness as he looked at Hitsugaya's struggling subordinates coldly, a small smirk gracing his features, waiting for the word. Aizen smiled and looked at Hitsugaya, their eyes briefly meeting and hatred coursed through his veins as he looked up at the monster that once dared to call himself Shinigami. He parted his lips and said almost playfully, "Kill all the subordinates, leave the Captain." Hitsugaya's eyes widened as the mindless slaughter began. General Potter had whipped out his wand and was casting spells at each of the remaining members of Division 10 without mercy. One by one they fell screaming to the ground, writhing in agony to just be put out of their misery a few seconds later as a secondary curse hit them. He couldn't watch but he couldn't look away. The temperature dropped dramatically as he watched his trusted squad, those that had respected and looked up to him; those that he should have protected from this beast, fall and die before him, he let out a yell and frost erupted covering the walls, ceiling and floor. The blast of reiatsu that followed was enough to crush the arrancar present and he felt a twisted sense of satisfaction as he watched them fall to the ground dead. _

_His eyes glowed and he tore free from his bindings, but he was too late, they were already dead, all of them. He wasn't so far gone in his rage to know that he needed to get back to Soul Society, to regroup with Matsumoto and the measly remainders of the once proud 10__th__ Division._

_So with a quick, hate-filled glance at Aizen he stepped forward before disappearing from sight as he used his shunpo. The espada in the room immediately went to take chase but Aizen held up his hand stopping them._

Hitsugaya was torn from his memory as he continued to stare at the boy with bright green eyes and Harry just stared back as though he didn't know what to do.

"So, are you going to just stare at us all day, or are you going to tell me who the bloody hell you are?" The silence was broken and Hitsugaya looked across Ron, but still said nothing.

"Um... Well I'm Harry Potter, it's nice to meet you." Harry stepped forward and held out his hand. Hitsugaya took a deep breath as he looked at the hand. This was what he was here for, but now that it was actually happening he wasn't sure if he was capable or strong enough to do it. The cries of his division rang in his ears as they died and he once again looked up at Harry, his resolve strengthened. He could do this; he had to do this. He wouldn't let what has already happened happen again. Forcing a smile Hitsugaya reached up and, hesitating only very slightly, shook Harry's hand.

"Hitsugaya Toushirou and the pleasures... all mine." He let go of Harry's hand and turned back towards the window. The crunch of shoes on glass alerted him to someone approaching; he just ignored them. The seat dipped ever so slightly as they sat next to him and he finally looked up, aqua eyes meeting brown. The person was smiling at him and his eyes widen fractionally. He felt as though he'd been hit by a train; he knew that face, the kind, warm smile that went right up to big brown eyes. Her brown hair fell just past her shoulders- a bit longer than he remembered, but there was no mistaking it, he knew that face and he knew that person. She was-

"Hi, I'm Hermione Granger; it's nice to meet Hitsugaya. Hogwarts is amazing, I know that you'll love your first year here; it really is something amazing." She continued to smile at him as he stared at her – staring was something he was doing a lot lately. He really should have been expecting it, to see her here, but he hadn't and he was surprised as he looked at Hermione Granger, sad emotions flitting through his body. To look at the dead and to see them once again alive and then to live with them when they had no clue as to who you are – that wasn't going to be hard, it would be torture. Unable to articulate a suitable response to Hermione's statement he just half grunted and once again looked away; he needed to collect his thoughts.

Harry watched as the peculiar white-haired boy looked out the window after turning away from Hermione. It had been weird when he'd looked into those intense eyes, it was as though they were trying to look into his very soul and he had felt quite uncomfortable. Fortunately he had looked away and sat down. He could hear Ginny telling Ron to quiet down and to stop swearing so much – "What do you think mum would think?" She had said and he just looked down sheepishly – but Harry was by far more interested in Hitsugaya Toushirou than he was in Ron. He watched as Hermione introduced himself and he noticed how it was like a kind of recognition flew across the boys face, as though he somehow knew one of Harry's best friends. Harry was actually a bit relieved when he saw Hitsugaya look away from Hermione and ignore her, there was just something about the boy that rubbed him the wrong way, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

The remainder of the trip was pretty uneventful, except for one part when Neville had showed them all his new plant – a Mimbulus Mimbletonia – and it had exploded sending stinksap flying all over everyone in the room. Harry could have sworn he had felt the temperature drop to a colder degree, but he thought it was probably one of the things that the disgusting plant did. After that the smell in the room had been almost unbearable, but as they neared the school the smell had started to dissipate.

Hitsugaya gazed out the window, the wind playing in his hair. The castle could be seen just in the distance, standing tall and proud with little lights shimmering against the backdrop of night sky and stars. It was magnificent; breath-takingly beautiful. As he pulled his gaze back into the room he noticed that all the students had changed into their uniforms – how they had done that without him noticing he had no clue.

"Hey, Hitsugaya, you should get changed, we'll be there soon." He just nodded his head in the direction of the speaker without moving. He had no idea as to where his luggage was, but that was okay. His clothes no longer stank as the putrid pus-like liquid from the plant had been discreetly cleaned off using a simple cleaning kidou, leaving his black polo shirt and blue jeans looking as though he had only just got them out of his wardrobe.

The rain slowed to a stop and everyone started to exit the exit their compartments. He had been expecting an orderly and calm exit from the train considering the amount of students there were, but instead it was like somebody had yelled _'Fire!'_ Children pushed and shove, fighting their way out of the small confines of the corridors. He hung back, waiting for the stampede to pass before stepping out into the corridor. He couldn't help but look back into the train compartment and smile at how crazy the other occupants in the room must think he is. They hadn't thought that he could hear them, but he could, as they whispered about his unexpected entrance and then his attitude afterwards. Oh well, they can think what they want to think, it didn't bother him. As he left the train he couldn't help but marvel once again at the beauty of Hogwarts. A picturesque scene lay before him as the castle stood silently surrounded by a dark, glistening lake. He could make out some carriages not too far away and students seemed to be getting into them. What was weird about them, though, was that the horses pulling them were extremely unusual in appearance, looking almost dead as they appeared to be just bones with skin pulled tautly across them. They had a sort of unnerving beauty about them that seemed right at home in Hogwarts, but the strangest part was nobody seemed to care about their appearance, some people ignoring them altogether. He guessed that they must be so used to them by now that they didn't even notice the beauty. He turned away and searched for a teacher who could tell him where to go. It didn't take long for his good eyes to spot the teacher down by the docks with a bunch of younger children standing around her.

"First years! First years this way!" Hitsugaya picked his way through the crowd and reached the teachers side. She glanced at him. Hitsugaya stepped cleared his throat, drawing her full attention to him.

"Excuse me, but I don't know where to go. You see I'm a new exchange student."

"Exchange student... Oh yeah, now I remember. I was told to look out for you. I'm Professor Grubbly-Plank and you'll come with me on the boats so that you can get sorted into a house." Hitsugaya nodded his head in understanding. They waited a little longer until all students were where they were meant to be before the first year students plus Hitsugaya boarded the boats. Apparently Hitsugaya's looks intimidated the little first years as nobody wanted to share a boat with him, so he ended up being by himself on the trip up to the castle. That was fine by him. Strange shadows moved through the water under his boat and the wind whipped up around him, the darkness and cool air like a blanket around him. He could stay out there all night, but that was not to be as the boat drew up to the shore of Hogwarts, the castle looming over them as though emphasising its grandeur. He stood up out of the boat and made the small trek up the small hill to reach the massive oak doors of the school. Apparently none of the other students thought that it had been a small trek, nor had the hill been small, as they all but collapsed on the ground, small breathing deeply while others stood trying to catch their breath. Hitsugaya felt slightly disgusted at their display of extreme levels of unfitness.

The doors to the castle opened halfway and Professor Grubbly-Plank ushered the students into the school, the doors creaking shut behind them. Excited and nervous whispers could be heard as the small students brimmed with excitement; they walked down a corridor before stopping once more in front t of a large oak door, though much smaller than the last one. The door opened soundlessly and he prepared to enter when a solitary figure stepped out, closing the door behind her. She was a tall witch wearing dark robes and a pointed hat, with a stern expression firmly in place that clearly said "I'm not someone to be trifled with." Her presence immediately commanded the attention and respect from the first years surrounding Hitsugaya and he had to say that he was impressed. He knew how hard it was to command respect, especially from respectless eleven year old brats.

"Welcome to Hogwarts, I am Professor McGonagall, Head Mistress of Hogwarts. The start of term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. While at Hogwarts your house is somewhat like your family. You will eat together, have classes together, share a common room and sleep in the same dormitories. The four houses are Slytherin, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Gryffindor. Each house has its own special characteristics which define them, and it is these characteristics which will be looked at to determine which house you shall be best suited for. I hope you each of you will be a good addition to whatever house you are placed in. Now before we enter the hall where is Hitsugaya Toushirou?" Hitsugaya walked forward. He had been mildly impressed with the speech, even if it had been dumbed down and directed at children who probably wouldn't have even noticed if the only thing the teacher had said was 'Welcome to Hogwarts.' Professor McGonagall indicated for him to follow her as she led him into a small room to the side.

"Now, before I say anything else, I just want to clear something up. Which is your first name?"

"Toushirou. I'm Japanese so they say the names in reverse." He had not been expecting that question at all.

"Okay, I thought so; I just had to make sure. Now, Mr Hitsugaya, you're the first exchange student that the school has accepted in close to ten years and as such there is a certain standard of behaviour that we expect here at Hogwarts. This year the school's movements are being closely monitored by the Ministry of Magic and questions about your transfer have already been brought up. So as well as behaving in a proper and accepted manner, the Headmaster also requests that you keep a low profile and try not to do anything that will cause you undue attention. Is that understood?" Hitsugaya nodded. He was about to ask a question about why Hogwarts movements were being watched, but McGonagall was already leaving the room so he had no choice but to follow. When they rejoined the larger group McGonagall went to the front and the students quieted down. A few people glanced his way with curious faces but he ignored them.

"We shall enter the Great Hall now, and you shall be on display for the entire school, so please try to behave accordingly." She turned towards the door and pushed them open. Light instantly hit Hitsugaya as it poured out of the enormous room. The architecture was superb, with a domed ceiling that appeared to have no end as it was consumed by what looked like the night sky. McGonagall walked across the room, now carrying a stool, a tattered hat and a scroll. _Did she have them before?_ Hitsugaya wondered to himself before brushing it off as unimportant. These people were magical, anything was possible with them. The first years trailed behind the Professor like lost sheep; as she reached the centre of the room she placed the stool down and the hat on top. It was as though everyone held their breath, waiting for something to happen. The first years didn't know what to expect and Hitsugaya himself was curious. And then a rip appeared in the bottom of the hat and something that should have been impossible happened – the hat started to sing.

The song was a long one, first describing the four houses and the qualities in each one, but nearer to the end it started to give a warning:

Though condemned I am to split you

Still I worry that it's wrong,

Though I must fulfil my duty

And must quarter every year

Still I wonder whether sorting

May not bring the end I fear.

Oh, know the peril, read the signs,

The warning history shows,

For our Hogwarts is in danger

From external, deadly foes

And we must unite inside her

Or we'll crumble from within

I have told you, I have warned you...

Let the Sorting now begin.

As soon as the song finished, Professor McGonagall unrolled her scroll and started to read names. The first person walked forward and sat down on the stool, the hat placed on her head. Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes. From the sound of the older students the warning in the hat's song was just as different for them too. What had it meant by 'External, deadly foes'? Was this somehow related to what would happen at the end of this year if he doesn't stop it? He would just have to keep his eyes more alert for danger – if it was possible to get any more alert.

The hat which sat on the girl's head suddenly spoke, saying one word in a loud, clear voice,

"Hufflepuff!" The girl stood up and walked towards the table cheering the most, a table with the colours of yellow and black. _Like a bee,_ he couldn't help but think randomly to himself.

The numbers of the first years dwindled until only he was left. All the students watched him as he stood and waited, whispering among themselves. His sensitive hearing picked up things like, "Look at his hair, that cannot be natural!" and "He's a little too old to be a first year, though he is short enough." He scowled. He was NOT short. He had grown a few inches and he was quite proud of his achievement, especially when Unahana... He broke off that line of thought and looked up at Dumbledore who had just stood up, quieting the kids.

"This year is a bit different, because as you can see we have a new student. That in itself is not new, but Mr Hitsugaya will not be starting in the first year, he is a transfer student from Japan and shall be in the fifth year." An eruption of noise was heard after this statement and Hitsugaya just stood calmly while they were once again quietened down. McGonagall called his full name and he stepped up to the stool and sat down. The hat was placed over his head, slipping a bit past his ears.

He sat silently for what seemed like forever before he felt it – someone or something was attempting to look into his memories. And he realised to his horror that they were succeeding. Where was Hyourinmaru? He could still feel the comforting presence of the ice dragon in his mind, but he was making no move to stop the intruder. Hitsugaya relaxed slightly; that meant that whatever it was Hyourinmaru had decided it not to be a threat. But that didn't mean he was comfortable with a stranger looking at his memories.

He heard a faint chuckle and it took everything he had not to jump or move in the slightest.

"Well, well, well, you are an interesting one aren't you Toushirou? From the look of your mind you're not even alive, nor are you even from this time. It is rather interesting. But I can't seem to be able to put you into a house, because you see courage, bravery, cunning, loyalty, acceptance, slyness, intelligence – you have them all. Though I must say I've never in all my years seen someone with a mind as brilliant as yours – I can see why you were called a child prodigy – perfect for Ravenclaw. But your heart is filled with hate and thoughts of revenge fill your mind – that could very well place you in Slytherin. You have endless loyalty suiting you to Hufflepuff, but at the same time you need large amounts of courage just to do what you did everyday; to do what you're doing now, trying to fix everything which is a trait of the mighty Gryffindor. Hmm... What house do you want to be in?" Hitsugaya thought for a minute, before realising that it would be pointless if he wasn't in the same house as Harry, so that answered that question.

"I want to be in whatever house Harry Potter is in." Hitsugaya felt rather than saw the rip form once again in the bottom of the hat and the one word boomed through the Great Hall, ringing loudly in Hitsugaya's ears.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Hitsugaya stood up and made his way to the Red and Gold house that were clapping quite vigorously, if not a little hesitantly. He slid down into his seat as Dumbledore started making before school announcements. However, half way through he was interrupted by an annoying fake cough. The woman who made said cough stood up and Hitsugaya immediately felt like being sick. He had never seen so much pink in his entire life, and that was saying something because he knew Matsumoto. The woman introduced herself as Dolores Umbridge and that she was from the Ministry of Magic._ Figures,_ he thought.

After all speeches were made dinner appeared magically on the plates and Hitsugaya started to eat dinner. Along the table harry pulled a slice of pie towards him on autopilot, his thoughts drifting back to the sorting. Toushirou may not have realised, but his sorting had taken way longer than was usually taken, lasting almost five minutes. It was very puzzling. Also, even if he didn't know the transfer student very well, Harry wouldn't have picked Griffindor as the house that the hat would put him in. He ate the rest of dinner on autopilot as he thought about the white haired boy again. He was strange and probably crazy – he would have to be to have clung to the side of a moving train. Crazy or he had a death wish to die in the most insane way possible.

As dinner finished Harry waved a vacant bye to Ron and Hermione who, as Prefects, had to direct the first years to the Gryffindor Common Room. He felt a twinge of jealousy as he thought of the position that should have been his. What was Dumbledore thinking? Ron wasn't even capable of looking after himself let alone other people; it really wasn't fair. He felt himself getting more jealous, bubbling up to the surface. He worked hard and he did more things to save everyone than Ron could ever dream of. He was walking in this jealous state when he felt a hand on his arm. He looked up into the intense aqua eyes and he just wanted to get away from them as quickly as possible.

"I don't know the school Harry; can you show me to the Gryffindor Common Room?" It was a simple question, but Harry couldn't help but think there was another ulterior motive behind the question and that made him uneasy.

"Uh, sure. It's just this way."

Hitsugaya was glad that he'd found Harry when he did, the black haired boy was exuding a very dark aura that had only been getting darker. If this was how he was before school had even started than he would definitely have his work cut out for him, that was for sure.

The two walked in an uncomfortable silence before Harry spotted the common room.

"So this is it, the password's Mimbulus Mimbletonia. Uh, bye." Harry darted away into the recently opened portrait hole and entered what was probably the hottest, most uncomfortable room he had ever been in. It was so hot it was almost a struggle to breathe. He hastily made his way up to the Dormitories and saw door with his name on it. Entering in he found little respite as the room was just as hot as the one before it had been. He hastily made his way to each of the seven floor length windows in the room opening them all, allowing the cool night breeze to lower the temperature to a more comfortable level. Once he was reasonably satisfied he looked for his bed. To his pleasure it was furthest away from the door and right next to a window. He slowly sank down into the soft mattress and lay down. It had been a long and unlucky day and he had a feeling that it would only get worse. As his eyelids drooped he couldn't help but think that tomorrow would be the start of a _very_ long year. His eyes closed and he fell into an uneasy sleep.


	7. Chapter 5

Hey everyone! Sorry for the long wait but things just kept getting in the way, so I had to keep putting off writing, but finally I could do this chapter. I'm officially finished school in two days so I 'll be able to update a lot quicker over the holidays. Thanks to all those lovely people who reieved the last chapter, thanks guys much appreciated.

* * *

Chapter 5

_"Hey Taicho, you know what would be a great idea? If we went to the spas! Isn't that just the best idea you've heard?" Matsumoto lounged on the couch in the Tenth Division office. Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow but ignored her. He steadily filled out the papers covering his desk, nearly double what any other captain had to do all because of a certain unnamed lazy vice-captain who did nothing but lounge all day and go to... spas. He sighed._

_"Taaiicchhoo!" Matsumoto flopped down across his desk and looked at him with wide puppy dog eyes._

_"You've been working awfully hard Taicho; I think you deserve a break." That was it, her incessant whining was grating on his nerves as his eyebrow twitched. The temperature dropped slightly to try and warn her to leave, but she didn't take the hint._

_"I was talking to Renji the other day and did you know that the spas are the most relaxing place in Soul Society? He said that by going there you find some kind of inner peace that helps you talk to you Zanpaktou. Isn't a good thing I'm always over there instead of losing touch with Haineko and doing boring paper work?"_

_"Matsumoto, I have no time to go with you, this work needs to be finished by this afternoon! Now stop annoying me and do. Your. Paperwork. NOW!" The temperature dropped even lower and Matsumoto, knowing how to cut her loses and leave, escaped from the room, only pausing long enough at the door to say, "Maybe tomorrow then Taicho?" before shunpo-ing away._

_"MATSUMOTO!" Hitsugaya's yell could be heard through all of the tenth division. With a small smile he looked back down at his work. He wasn't really angry at Matsumoto, he actually didn't even mind when she occasionally skipped on her paperwork... but man that woman was lazy!_

_He worked steadily and after five more hours of doing nothing but paperwork he was finished. Not many other people would have been able to do that insane amount of work in only a few hours, but he wasn't called a work-a-holic for nothing. Thoroughly pleased with himself he allowed himself to take the opportunity to relax. Just as he closed his eyes he heard a small thrum coming from just outside his door. He ignored it. The thrum grew slightly louder so it kind of sounded like a drum. Again he ignored it. It was probably Matsumoto trying to annoy him, but it wasn't going to work – not this time at least. Once again the sound grew slightly louder and now it sounded like boots on the ground running. It really was strange, but Matsumoto had to do way better than that to annoy him. The sound stopped and he smiled. _She must have gotten bored and gone back to her stupid spa. I win._ Someone screamed. Hitsugaya jumped out of his chair so quickly that it toppled over. He used his flash step to reach the door and he just about pulled it off its hinges. If this was Matsumoto's idea of a joke she would be in so much trouble!_

_He exited through the damaged door and was... standing in front of the Kurosaki Clinic? That wasn't possible. He hesitantly walked forward. The street was quiet, almost eerily so, and he just go a very bad feeling overall. He walked forward and had his hand resting on the doorknob to enter when the whole front of the building exploded. He was sent flying through the air but surprisingly – impossibly more like it – he was unharmed. He was lying in a ditch and he could see everything that unfolded._

_Ichigo flashed into his vision, an arrancar – no espada – not two seconds behind him. The two were in a heated battle with various injuries adorning each body. Ichigo was clearly exhausted but he continued to fight._

_"Go ichi-nii, beat him down!" Hitsugaya's head snapped round to the front of the destroyed building. Standing in front of it was Kurosaki's sisters, Karin and Yuzu, and they were yelling encouragements to him. Just then a stray cero missed Ichigo and blasted both girls, instantly annihilating them beyond recognition. Ichigo screamed and a hollow mask started to form over his face. But it came too late. A sword was plunged through his gut and torn upwards and Ichigo fell to his knees choking on his own blood. Hitsugaya tried to yell out to him, to reach out and help him; support him. But he was unable to do anything but lie there and watch. The espada laughed with his head thrown back, glee written all over his face. It was sickening to watch how much pleasure he was getting from killing Ichigo. Ichigo grabbed his Zanpaktou in both his hands and tried one last attempt at killing his opponent. He missed. He fell face forward and lay still, blood pulling around him. A scream was heard reverberating through the street._

_"ICHIGO!"_

_Kuchiki Rukia arrived at Ichigo's side and lifted his head up with tears rolling down her face._

_"Get up baka. Please" The last part she whispered and Ichigo ever so slowly opened his eyes halfway._

_"I'm... sorry." Rukia held him close and then looked at the espada with hatred rolling off her very being. The espada just sneered at her as his hand glowed red before he threw a cero at her and Ichigo. They died together in each other's arms._

_Hitsugaya was shocked; he didn't know what to do. He still couldn't move so he couldn't go over to his fallen friends. He had been the stronger out of the three of them and he should have protected them, not just lie back and watch them die; that seemed to have become a habit of his. The espada fled the scene before once more sneering at the dead Shinigami. Hitsugaya looked down and realised why he was unable to move; the explosion had sent flying and he had landed on a piece of glass. He grasped the blood stained glass and ripped it from his back. He could have sworn that it hadn't been there when he had looked down when he first landed. This whole situation didn't make sense. When the glass was out of his back it was as though he was magically cured. He got up and walked towards Rukia and Ichigo, horror and shock present on his face. They had been good fighters and very good friends and they would be missed by everyone. But something wasn't right in this situation. He remembered it quite clearly; he had been there after all. But when he had fallen and watched helplessly he had fallen unconscious and was found by the remainders of squad four and was healed. His recovery had taken a few months, but here he was walking around as though nothing had happened. And how was he even in the living world anyway? It didn't make sense._

_"It's because you're dreaming." Hitsugaya turned, startled by this second person – he hadn't even heard anyone approaching. Who he saw made his eyes open very wide._

_White hair mattered with blood stuck up at funny angles, his clothes ripped and stained, fresh blood flowing freely from various gashes on him. A sword was clutched tightly in fingers that looked to be broken and intense aqua hairs bore into his equally intense aqua eyes. He was facing himself._

_"Where were you? Ichigo and Rukia are dead because of your incompetence. In fact __**everyone**__ is dead because of your lack of ability. You promised that you would succeed, but instead you failed everyone and let them die. You're a worthless failure." Accusing eyes stared at him, daring him to deny. But he couldn't because it was true. So many times he had been in a position where he had to watch as innocent lives were killed and destroyed and yet he had saved none of them. He had let Aizen win just that little bit more with each life he failed to save and he felt disgusted and sick with himself. His other self was completely right._

_"The best thing you can do is just roll over and die, at least that would be retribution to all the people you indirectly murdered."_

_"But he's trying to fix it. He came back to a time that he doesn't belong in just so he can make sure that what has happened doesn't happen again. Doesn't that mean he really is saving everyone?" Hitsugaya jumped again and faced the newcomer, who did indeed have a very valid point. What he saw was a boy with spotless white hair with his Shinigami clothes immaculate and clean, his white haori with the number ten on the back positioned over the black robes. This newcomer still had intense aqua eyes that stared into his, but they seemed as though they were lighter, kinder, which was a stark contrast to the hard stone like eyes of the accusing Hitsugaya. The newcomer also was Hitsugaya. _Now this is just too weird_, he thought to himself as he looked at the two Hitsugaya's._

_"What you say may be true, but he wouldn't be in this mess if he had of done his job the first time round! And frankly I don't think he can do it. Just look at him! He absolutely hates Harry Potter and he can't stop having these flash back memories to remind him of just why he hates Harry, himself and just life in general. I don't think he's a strong enough person to be able to get past the past or future and look towards the future. It would be nice if that future was a different one but we both know that he doesn't have what it takes!"_

_"Well I think you're wrong. Even if he may not be a strong enough person he is determined. Hell he was a captain of the Gotei 13! Give him at least a little credit. He can do this because I believe in him!"_

_Hitsugaya watched as the other two fought over whether or not he would succeed, whether he was right or wrong, good or evil. The situation was interesting, but he had long figured out that if this was a dream then the two Hitsugaya's must be the two halves of him – the pessimistic side and the optimistic side... Well not really optimistic but less pessimistic. It was strange to see the pessimistic side winning the argument, because this must really be his own thoughts which meant he didn't believe himself to be strong enough to complete his mission. This in itself was unusual because for his whole life he was striving to be seen as strong and capable, but the whole time his heart hadn't really believed it._

_He turned away from the two of him fighting to look around him at what he knew to be a memory. But as he looked he noticed that he was no longer in front of the Kurosaki Clinic but was instead in a place that was completely black. The two sides of him faded until he was all alone in this new place where ground melted into wall which melted into ceiling until you couldn't tell whether you were standing straight, lying down or even standing on your head; it really was quite disorientating. Whispers could be heard through the darkness, whispered insults directed at him. The whole thing was pointless; he might as well have not come back to this time. The darkness swirled around him, pressing him down; weighing down on his heart and soul. _NO!_ A voice said forcefully to him, reverberating through the darkness. _Snap out of it! Are you going to let a few doubts stop you from succeeding? The Hitsugaya I know would never dream of giving up, of just laying down without a fight. The Hitsugaya I know is a strong, powerful individual that can defeat anything thrown his way. So stop feeling sorry for yourself and wake up to yourself! _The darkness turned cold, the temperature turned right down. Hitsugaya widened his eyes in surprise. It had been so long since he had heard that voice, he almost didn't recognise it. But the owner was unmistakable as they appeared before him, emitting a brilliant light to guide him through the darkness. Hyourinmaru. The ice dragon stood proud before him, and just looking at him reminded Hitsugaya of who he was; he was the proud captain of the 10__th__ division damnit! The youngest captain ever because of his intellect, power and amazing strength. He was proud and there was no way he would give up. He may not like Harry Potter, but he would be damned if that was going to stop him! He looked up, new fire blazing in the depths of his aqua eyes, and locked eyes with his Zanpaktou. His eyes sent thanks and also an apology. The two Hitsugaya's from before were meaningless – they were just products of his own indecisiveness – but Hyourinmaru, he was the real extension of his soul. He had been a fool to listen to his doubts, to let them feed on his thoughts. It was true that many good people were dead and that he had watched many of them die, but they weren't dead yet. In this time they were still alive and kicking, and he was going to keep it that way. He was going to give himself another chance and he would win against the darkness!_

_The darkness surrounding him started to lift and hazy shapes could be seen, taking shape. Hyourinmaru disappeared back into his mind, as his eyes slowly opened to take in the sights of the Griffindor boys' dormitory. He was awake._

He slowly sat up and rubbed sleep from his eyes as the sun came in through the window. The temperature in the room was once again unbearable – someone must have closed the windows and relit the fire after he had fallen asleep. Hitsugaya thought back to his dream. It had started off so strange, but he was glad he had that dream and was able to remember his true goal. _Arigato Hyourinmaru,_ he thought in his head, but he received no answer. He sighed, _so it was back to normal again, oh well, I guess I'll have all year to try and remake the ties I once had with him. _

Hitsugaya got up and got dressed in loose fitting pants and a t-shirt; the boys in the beds around him still fast asleep. It was only around five o'clock in the morning, but this was way later than Hitsugaya usually slept in to. He finished dressing and then left the room. As he passed through the common room he couldn't help but feel how much more empty it looks in the early hours of the morning than it does later in the day. He ducked out of the portrait hole and then left the castle to walk through the enormous grounds. When he found a secluded out of the way spot Hitsugaya sat down and started to meditate. It was a routine that he had been keeping for years; the only consistent thing in his inconsistent life. After he meditated he would practise some form work and then practise with Hyourinmaru – but he'd left his sword in the dormitory so he would have to make do with his wand this morning. Oh well. Hitsugaya continued with his morning routine.

At around seven thirty Harry woke up with the other boys in the dormitory, though he couldn't help but notice the absence of one boy in particular – Hitsugaya Toushirou. When he had come up stairs to go to bed the previous night he had noticed how cold the atmosphere was and when he had entered the room he saw that someone had opened all the windows and the cool autumn air was blowing through. To say it was freezing would have been a severe understatement. He had gone around and closed all the rooms and had relit the fire that must have been blown out by the wind.

As he got up and dressed in the Hogwarts uniform he couldn't help but look over at Seamus Finnegan. Last night they had a big fight. Apparently his mum didn't want him to come back to Hogwarts with Harry, who the Daily Prophet labelled as crazy. Over the holidays all sorts of stories were flying around about him and how he supposedly witnessed Voldemort almost come back from the dead. Nobody was willing to believe that the darkest wizard of all time was trying to defy fate and do the impossible and rise from the dead. Harry's claims were regarded as impossible and unbelievable and he himself was called a loon; nobody wanted to know or be associated with the crazy person.

"Hey, you ok mate?" Harry looked at his best friend who had concern in his eyes. _Well, almost everyone._

"Yeah I'm ok Ron. Let's get some breakfast because I'm starving." The two left in a companionable silence. They met up with Hermione outside the common room.

"Morning," she said with a bright smile. Ron grunted morning back and Harry nodded to her. She was far too happy and bright for this time of the morning. As they walked they passed students in various stages of awakeness, some looking like they would nod off at any moment. Harry concluded that this castle was full of people who were definitely not morning people; he could relate. Throughout breakfast Harry kept half an ear on a very talkative Hermione's conversation while looking around the room trying to spot a certain someone. He didn't even know why he cared so much; it was just something about the peculiar transfer student that made him want to find him, which was weird because he didn't even like the guy – even if they had only exchanged a few words. Toushirou didn't turn up for the rest of breakfast.

Said person was flash stepping up to the castle to have a shower and get changed into his school uniform for first period. His workout this morning had been hard and vigorous, and it looked like he wouldn't even get any time for breakfast. What a way to start the day. There was one thing he could be thankful of though and that was that he didn't need a gigai, so he wasn't feeling constrained as he usually did when wearing the false body. It was a good thing that wizards could see Shinigami because of their levels – even if very minor – of reiatsu, because it really would have been tough trying to find a gigai. He finished cleaning up and was just loosening his tie so it wasn't so tight around his neck when the first bell rung. Luckily McGonagall had given him his time-table the night before so that he could study it and become familiar with it. Something about needed as much preparation for this new school as possible. He looked at the time-table now and saw that he had-

"Defence Against the Dark Arts. Yes, finally things are looking up." He had heard a lot about DADA classes at Hogwarts and from what he had heard the class taught defensive and offensive spells – there theory and their practical uses. He hurried to the classroom which was on the fifth floor, not too far away, and reached the end of the corridor it was on just as the door was closing. Quickly, using shunpo, he reached the door and stopped it from shutting, and then walked in. The teacher who had closed the door looked at him and he realised that even if it was a good subject, the teacher wouldn't be so good, because the teacher was the one who had rudely interrupted Professor Dumbledore last night at the feast – the arrogant, toad-like ministry official who wore hideous amounts of pink. He calmly sat down in a chair and waited patiently for class to begin. Out of the corner of his eye he could see green eyes staring at him from across the room, but he just ignored him.

"Good morning students, as you all know I'm Professor Dolores Umbridge and I will teach you Defence Against the Dark Arts this year. Now these will be our course aims for the year. I have high hopes for all of you to do well in your O.W.L.s with me as your teacher." She turned away from the class and flicked her wrist at the blackboard which proceeded to fill up with curly writing. _Why couldn't she just write it herself? Is she that lazy?_ Hitsugaya thought to himself.

"Are there any questions?" she asked in that false soprano voice of hers as she turned around. Hermione confidently raised her hand.

"Miss...?"

"Hermione Granger. You've only listed the work on the theory behind the spells, but you haven't actually written when we'll practise the spells."

"Well Miss Granger, the ministry don't think you need to know how to use the spells, it isn't like you'll need them, now is it. So the theory will do just fine." _Damn! And I thought this was going to be a good and interesting subject,_ Hitsugaya thought.

Harry raised his hand.

"But what about when you need to defend yourself professor?"

"Mr Potter, when would you possibly ever need to protect yourself? There are no dangers in this world that would harm you." Hitsugaya didn't mean to do it, it just sort of slipped out, but at the toads comment he quietly snorted at how ridiculous her statement was. Every head in the room turned to look at him.

"Is there something you want to say to that Mr Hitsugaya?" She looked at him dangerously, almost daring him to say his thoughts, and never on to back down from such an obvious challenge Hitsugaya spoke up; it wasn't like he couldn't not say anything anyway.

"Well, I was just thinking at how ridiculous that statement you made was. Don't you think it's a little naive to say that there are no dangers, that nothing will harm him or anyone else? I mean everything and everyone is a potential danger, because things are unpredictable, which means anything can happen. To say he would never need to protect himself, in my opinion, is a naive, close-minded and ignorant statement. That's all." Umbridge just looked at him. Had he just insulted her!? Harry looked at him with something close to gratitude on his face. It must be hard for the raven haired boy, having hardly anyone willing to stand by his side and help him against people like Umbridge. Hitsugaya had been thinking the whole way to Hogwarts on the train how to befriend the scarred boy, but now this happened out of the blue and it was way better than he could have hoped – he had practically told Harry that he was on his side. It was perfect.

Umbridge came out of her speechlessness and walked over to Hitsugaya.

"That, Mr Hitsugaya, has just earned you detention with me this afternoon."

"Ok." _Like I'm going to go_.

The lesson continued as normal, with Hitsugaya only skimming over the extremely boring book they had to read – Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard – until near the end. Umbridge and Harry got into another fight about the dangers of the world, and this time Hitsugaya made sure to keep his mouth shut. It just ignored it for a while, but many other students were watching, much preferring that to the book.

"...Voldemort."

Hitsugaya's head shot up and suddenly he was very interested, though listening into a conversation halfway through could prove to be a bit confusing.

"You may believe, Mr Potter that you saw a dead wizard – one that has been dead for as long as you have been born might I add – try to become alive again, but that is impossible."

"It isn't, I was there! He killed Cedric Diggery, what more proof do you need?"

"Mr Diggery's death was just an unfortunate by product of an extremely dangerous game that quite frankly should have never been brought to Hogwarts."

"No! It was murder! Trying to deny that Voldemort is trying to regain his life will only get you killed in the long run."

"10 points from Griffindor. Now Mr Potter if you could kindly stop spreading your lies and trying to taint the minds of the students in my classroom so that we can continue with our work, that would be appreciated." Umbridge and Harry seemed to have a staring contest, neither willing to back down. From the little Hitsugaya had just heard he could work out that Voldemort was... dead? That part was still unclear, because dead people can't become not dead – that was impossible, he should know. More research on Voldemort would be required.

"I'm not lying Professor, just because you choose to live in a sheltered bubble and like to pretend that nothing's happening, that doesn't make it true."

Umbridge's eyes flashed dangerously, still not breaking eye contact with Harry, but her next words were directed at the class.

"Some of you may have been corrupted by this lying child, but I can tell you definitely that a certain Dark wizard will once again be at large, and that his reign of terror will be brought down on all our heads, cloaking this world in metaphorical darkness, but it. Is. A. Lie!" The last word came out almost like a hiss through her teeth as she broke eye contact to stare at each student individually.

"It isn't a lie, he's out there, and we need to prepare for when he does come."

"I have had enough of you Mr Potter. You have detention, come to my staffroom straight after dinner. Now sit back down and-" The bell rang cutting her off and all the students stood up to leave to their next class, potions with Snape. Hitsugaya slung his bag over his shoulder and walked out of the room towards the dungeons.

Harry watched him leave. He really hadn't expected Toushirou to take his side like that, but since he did his whole opinion of the boy was now changed. _What type of person is he?_ Harry thought briefly to himself before deciding to find out for himself.

"Hey Toushirou, wait up!"

Hitsugaya turned around to see Harry running to catch up to him; he slowed his pace and Harry was soon at his side. He looked at Harry questioningly and Harry just turned his head slightly to the side so that he wouldn't have to look at those eyes.

"Um, I just wanted to thank you. You know, for what you said to Umbridge, and yeah. So we have potions know? DO you want to be my partner today?" Hitsugaya smiled inwardly, _perfect_.

"Sure, and what happened in Defence Against the Dark Arts, don't mention it, it was nothing really." The two walked towards the dungeons together. When they were seated in the classroom, Hitsugaya couldn't quite help but feel right at home in the cooler atmosphere. Professor Snape strode into the room when everyone was seated, pushing the door closed with a _thud!_ behind him. He had greasy black hair that hung down over his face, a face which supported a very large hooked nose. As soon as he entered the room all the students became completely quiet. Hitsugaya was impressed with the man; though is outside appearance was disgusting and revolting he managed to command respect which was commendable – quite unlike Umbridge who had commanded no respect in the slightest. Hitsugaya noticed his cauldron was already down in the dungeon, and he couldn't help but wonder when it was put down here. The last time he had seen it was during his little episode with the Hogwarts Express – an episode he was glad to see that wasn't spreading like wildfire through the castle.

Hermione watched as Harry and Hitsugaya sat down next to each other a few rows away from her and Ron._ Harry just completely ditched us!_ Last night she had gotten the feeling that Harry didn't really like Hitsugaya – which was unreasonable and irrational as he didn't even know him – but that was the feeling she had gotten. And now here they were being all chummy and buddy-buddy just because Hitsugaya had stood up for him in class. Then she stopped. _Maybe he's mad at us. But why would he be mad? Maybe he's jealous because we got prefects and he didn't! That's the only thing that makes sense. But I really didn't think he was that type of person, though. Hmm..._

While Hermione sat in thought Ron, too, was watching his best friend and the exchange student sitting next to each other. His lip curled as his mind came up with all different scenarios that would happen because Harry sat next to Toushirou instead of him; number one being Harry would ditch him as a best friend and be best friends with Toushirou. That thought was very off putting. Ron stared at Toushirou, his eyes boring into the smaller boy's back as though trying to drill holes in his back.

Snape had assigned them to make some kind of potion that got rid of wrinkles or something like that. Potions were second nature to Hitsugaya because he had made enough to last a life time. During the war he had to make deadly potions as quickly as humanly possible and faster; he had been the chief potion master, so these insignificant, shallow fifth year potions were nothing for him. As he was adding some fluxweed to start off his potion he felt an incredibly uncomfortable aura emitting from two people behind him. The first one was a bit sad, and maybe slightly angry, while the other, more predominant one was incredibly jealous. And both of them were directed at him. The jealous person was trying to make holes appear in his back just by staring, he could. He slowly turned in his chair to find the two auras were coming from Ron and Hermione. _What could they be thinking? No scratch that, what could Hermione be thinking; Ron's obviously just jealous because I'm sitting next to his best friend. I wonder what-_

"Toushirou!" Hitsugaya was pulled out of his thoughts, and his head snapped around when Harry tugged on his sleeve and said his name. Hitsugaya immediately saw what the problem was. He had a tendency to work on auto-pilot when he was thinking, and it turns out he had fallen back into doing a potion he knew very well. Too bad he had already finished it. The potion in question was a deep, rich purple colour that was completely odourless, a far cry from the putrid green potion he was meant to have made. _Damn._ The purple potion was in fact a very deadly potion, one of the most deadly in the world; it was rumoured to be able to kill with just when drop touching any exposed skin. _Hopefully Snape hasn't noticed._

"What is this potion Toushirou? Had did you make it without any instructions or without even watching what you were doing?"

Hitsugaya didn't answer. Instead he got out his wand and was about to discreetly clean away the contents of the cauldron when Snape, who had been attracted by Harry's lack of working, popped up behind him. He had felt the teacher coming, but there wasn't anything he could do about the situation. _Damnit, there are going to be a lot of questions with this, I can tell._

Snape had seen Harry not working from across the room, and not wanting to lose and opportunity to torment him, he had walked over. What he saw was not what he expected to see. To say that he was surprised when he saw Hitsugaya Toushirou trying to get rid of the contents of his cauldron, which was one of the most deadliest potions known to man – far too complicated for him to make let alone a fifth year student – would be the biggest understatement of the year. And the boy didn't even look like he thought he did anything wrong, he just looked... frustrated? That couldn't be right. Frustrated that he had gotten caught? But why make it in the first place. Not many students had ever made Severus Snape speechless, but this one did. Students had begun to look up to see why Professor Snape was just standing there and looking at the cauldron and not tormenting Harry. Instead of saying anything Snape just got out his wand and cleared away Hitsugaya's cauldron. Then he walked to the front of the room and sat down behind his desk. Nobody knew what was going on, not even Harry who had been sitting beside him. To him Hitsugaya had just accidently put in a few wrong ingredients. Five minutes passed before Snape had found his voice. When he spoke it didn't even like he lost it at all; it was as cool and severe as always.

"Get back to work, or I will start to deduct house points." Hitsugaya sighed a small sigh of relief, he was going to let it slide and he wouldn't be forced to answer questions that he couldn't.

When the bell rang for lunch everyone packed up and was about to leave when Snape cleared his throat.

"Mr Hitsugaya, stay behind." _Damn, not as lucky as I thought I was._

Hitsugaya walked back into the room and sat back down in his chair, his expression remaining as unemotional as it usually is.

"I shall cut straight to the chase. That potion you made was the _Virus Venenum_ am I correct?" Hitsugaya nodded his head; there was no point in trying to lie – well too much that is.

"How did you make it? No, why did you make it?"

"It was an accident; I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing. Look, I'm sorry, can I go now?" Snape looked at him incredulously. Did this child really expect him to believe that he made the most complex and one of the most deadly poisons because he wasn't paying attention? _How dumb does he think I am?!_ It was obvious Snape wasn't going to get a real answer out of him, so he may as well just let him go so he could talk to the Headmaster about it.

"Fine you may leave." Snape got up and watched the short student leave before he too left straight up to Professor Dumbledore's office.

Once Hitsugaya was allowed to leave he left the dungeons and went outside to sit maybe under a tree away from the student body. His stomach rumbled, reminding him of his lack of breakfast, but he ignored it, he didn't really want to face the whole school population at the moment – way too much noise and heat. But as he sat he did keep a very close eye on the auras being emitted from Harry, and also Hermione and Ron. The fact that Harry was surrounded by people like them everyday could very well be a contributing factor to his turn to darkness.

When Snape reached the gargoyle that protected Dumbledore's office he muttered "lemon drops" and the gargoyle sprang to life. He ascended the stairs and reached Dumbledore's door where he could clearly hear the Headmaster engaged in a conversation with Professor McGonagall.

"Have you even heard this ridiculous rumour flying around the school? He got on the train, literally ON the train – on the side. And then he climbed across and smashed through a window! Albus, that should be impossible. I wouldn't believe it if it were not for the evidence on the train; the carriage room he was in is full of glass and the window is completely destroyed. Not only is this a blatant disregard for school property, but it was also a reckless and stupid stunt. What can he be thinking? Does he have a death wish? Or is he just an adrenaline junkie?"

Snape, who was listening in on this conversation, decided to make his presence known and rapped his knuckles on the door. The talking immediately ceased and Snape heard Dumbledore say, "Come in," before he opened the door. Inside he saw that Dumbledore sat behind his desk with McGonagall standing in front of it.

"Yes Severus? Is there something you need me for?"

"In fact there is. I couldn't help but overhear your conversation, and am I right in assuming you were talking about the new exchange student, Hitsugaya Toushirou?" Dumbledore curtly nodded his head.

"Well he's the reason why I'm here as well. You see I just had him for potions and his attention apparently wandered. This in itself is not unusual as many of my students – especially Gryffindors' – tend to let themselves drift. But anyway, when his attention wandered his hands worked on auto-pilot, but the potion they made was definitely not the potion I set. He made the _Virus Venenum_ which is an extremely potent and deadly potion that even the most skilled of potion makers could only ever dream of making. If what he says is true and that he made it without thinking then that means that he's made it before – numerous times before – which could mean that what we have is a very skilled killer amongst our midst."

"Don't be ridiculous Severus, what we have on our hands isn't some kind of killer, but instead a young child in need of some desperate help, and quick," McGonagall said to Snape in condescending tones.

"Minerva, Severus, it's only the second day of school – the first day of the actually classes – so I say we trial Mr Hitsugaya for the next couple of weeks to see how he goes. He will be under constant, vigilant surveillance, and at the end of a few weeks we will judge his behaviour accordingly."

"And if someone dies in that probation period? What will you do then?" Dumbledore stood up his blue eyes blazing with anger.

"Severus, you have no ground on which you base your accusations. Do you really think so poorly of me to allow a murderer into the school grounds? What I have decided is final; now both of you want to watch him, so leave."

McGonagall and Snape recognised the obvious dismissal and made their way out of the office. As soon as they were gone Dumbledore sat down once again.

"Who are you," Dumbledore whispered to the room. "Hitsugaya Toushirou... hmmm...." He steepled his fingers and rested his head on top. "Are you really as Severus says; are you really just a cold blooded killer? Or are you as Minerva says, just a very troubled teen? Or are you something else entirely? Very interesting..."

* * *

Responses to some reviews:

Lady Queria - It really would be interesting wouldn't it, I know I'd like to see it so maybe I'll work it in a bit later if i can. Thanks for the review, it's always nice to read reviews for your story isn't it?

Anonymous person - I'm sorry you don't really like my story, but I don't think I understand the comment you made about it being unbelievable for Harry to be the only one capable to time travel because last time I checked it was Hitsugaya, not Harry, who travelled back in time. Also is it so far fetched to say that there would be some kind of book out there in the magical world that teaches spells of time travel, I mean there's a book teaching every single other spell isn't there.

Sapphire-angel-gem, Bokmal14 and animeloveramy - thanks guys so much for reviewing and leaving nice comments and stuff, it really makes my day to read good reviews for my storry. XD

* * *

So how was my chapter? Like it, not like, I want to hear whatever you have to say so review please, that would just be great of you if you did.


	8. Chapter 6

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE!!!! I'm glad I was able to finish in time to submit it on Christmas day because I was going to do a christmas one shot but that just didn't happen so this is my christmas chapter even though it has absolutely nothing to do with christmas, with no mention of christmas, and not even at the right time of year in my story timeline. Thanks everyone so much who reviewed! I got 12 reviews for that last chapter so I'm so happy yay!

* * *

Chapter 6

The rest of Hitsugaya's classes after lunch went relatively smoothly, though he did get a strange feeling in transfiguration. Professor McGonagall kept looking at him discreetly throughout the entire lesson with something akin to concern in her eyes; it was extremely annoying and made him feel uncomfortable. But now sitting on his comfortable bed in the boys' dormitory with all windows open he could relax and just rest. Hogwarts was definitely not what he had expected and it would take some getting used to. Also adjustments to his own personal lifestyle would have to be made – for a start he wouldn't be able to stay by himself like he'd prefer, instead he would have to 'hang' around Harry and his friends for practically the whole day. This first day of term had merely bee a day of observation, observing each persons' character and personality that he felt was close enough to influence Harry's attitude. Out of the people he had seen so far, which only included a handful of Gryffindor classmates, some guy with a really weird last name – Long something or other – Ron's sister Ginny, and Hermione and Ron who were the closest to him, the people who had really worried him were Hermione and Ron. On the surface they seemed normal and Harry probably wouldn't notice anything, but underneath the surface lurked potential monsters waiting to come out; this was quite evident in Ron who seemed quite jealous of some trivial matter or another, _who can tell with such small minds?_ he thought to himself. Downstairs in the common room he could feel the trio's reiatsus' right where he had left them. His plan to befriend Harry was going along nicely because of that Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson where they had developed a 'bond' or something corny like that, but Hitsugaya couldn't help but feel that there was something a little off about it all, he felt that Harry wasn't entirely truthful and that he was fake; everything about him screamed false. The way he saw it Harry had gone from hating him to being good friends with him – nobody changes their opinions on people that fast! But what was his angle? What game was he playing? He really was a mystery, but Hitsugaya loved mysteries and he would solve him before the deadline and he would help him as well – no matter how fake he was.

Harry sat in his comfy arm chair down in the common room with Hermione and Ron and all three of them were huddled together around the fire – they had the best seats in the whole room. Hermione was rattling on about one fact or another and Ron was just sitting ignoring her, but she didn't notice. Harry was deep in thought as he usually was these days – it was strange, he had never really thought of himself as being a thoughtful kind of person before – unconsciously rubbing the back of his hand, feeling the imprint of the words 'I must not tell lies' that seemed to be engraved in his flesh thanks to his detention with Umbridge where he had to write out lines with a special quill. Soon his thoughts turned to the events of the day and he couldn't stop himself thinking of a certain white-haired student. He tried not to think about him but it was as though his thoughts were compelled to stay with him; the boy thoroughly intrigued him, he was a mystery. Today had been the first day he had really met him, and what he had seen was different to what he imagined the transfer student to be like for some reason. He had not expected Toushirou to stand up for him against Umbridge but he did and it was like a sort of bond or friendship had formed. Harry yawned and looked around the room. Everyone was doing everything and anything; he saw Fred and George selling their shady wares to unsuspecting first years, one or two people were reading books and there were a lot of people talking to each other. _Probably about the hot new topic of gossip,_ he thought to himself. Toushirou's adventure – if that's what you want to call it – with the Hogwarts Express had spread like wildfire through the school, and Harry had learnt from experience that one rumour always starts another rumour and another and another and so on. Toushirou's rumour had gotten so out of hand that there was a spin-off rumour going around that he was a secret agent and had accidently fallen through the window on the train when he was instead meant to stay on the side and infiltrate Hogwarts secretly, but now he has to do it as a student. _Ridiculous._

Harry was still weary of the smaller boy though, because to him Toushirou came across a bit... fake or false. Harry's first impressions of people were rarely wrong and his first impression of Toushirou was that he was cold-hearted, cruel and distant, but today it turned out he wasn't any of those things, and Harry would usually accept that, but there was still Toushirou's behaviour on the train where he had been distant, giving anyone the cold-shoulder who tried to talk to him; this behaviour compared with the open, warm, willing-to-be-friends-with-Harry Toushirou that he had seen today, it just didn't ring true to him. And he had been aware that he had been under constant scrutiny even though to the casual observer the looks would have been seen as nothing to worry about. He also noticed that Ron and Hermione were, for some reason, also under this scrutiny. It was very subtle and nobody had noticed, but it made him wonder what was really going on. What was driving this guy? What game was he playing? Harry didn't like being in a game where he didn't know what was happening or what would happen next – it was like playing a board game in the dark. Toushirou was a mystery, one Harry would like to solve, but he would be unable to do anything until the next move was made.

* * *

Hitsugaya sat in the empty Great Hall at the Gryffindor table. It was the first time he had been in the room since the first night at Hogwarts and he was starving. But apparently there was a set time for breakfast because, even though it was five-thirty in the morning, nobody was up yet. He had changed the time he started his morning fitness routine, which was only a minor workout in the morning so only took between three-three and a half hours to do, so he would have plenty of time to have something to eat, to have a shower and to pack all his books for the days' lessons which start at around quarter-past eight. It seemed he was too early for breakfast, but because of his vigorous workout he had exuded reiatsu and needed food to replenish his energy which had already started out at dangerously low levels. _If lessons start at quarter-past eight then why is nobody up? Do lessons start later or something today?_ Deciding that taking a shower would be a better pass time than waiting for seemingly non-existent food, he left the hall. Also this way he wouldn't have to answer questions on why he was wearing workout gear and was all sweaty. As far as he knew nobody had commented on his stunt with the train so he didn't want to push the gossip mongers to talk about this.

At seven thirty he walked back down to the Great Hall after sitting in the Common Room for close to one and a half hours after having a shower and his stomach was growling at him showing its anger at being neglected for so long. When he reached the Hall he saw that nobody else was in there – _am I missing something here?_ – but thankfully the tables were weighted down with food. Hitsugaya nimbly walked to his table and looked at the selection and stopped dead. _What the?! What is this crap?_ Covering the entire length of the Gryffindor table was fatty, disgusting English food. Hitsugaya didn't mind English food – food was food to him – but as far as he could see, all he could see was sausages, bacon, eggs, fat, fat, fat. Even the simple breakfast dishes like cereal and toast were someway made to be more fatty and unhealthy. He felt that he could probably get a heart attack just by looking at the food. His stomach growled again, but there was no way in hell he would eat that food. So he decided to take a little walk. As he walked he projected his mind out looking for life signs; he could sense people from all the common rooms stirring and waking up, but he could also sense an abundance of souls in the one place not too far from his position. He quickly flashed to the place but all he saw was a painting with a bowl of fruit, but there was definitely life signs on the opposite side. _The door must be hidden behind this painting, but how do you open it?_ He searched the whole painting without it moving an inch – it must be magically set in place – but as his hands roamed over the picture itself the painting suddenly sprang to life with the pear... giggling? It then morphed into a handle and the door swung open. Hitsugaya slowly walked through the door aware that he probably wasn't meant to be here considering such lengths were taken to secure the doorway. _It was a pretty stupid lock though, I figured it out without even really trying to._ The inside was like nothing he had ever seen before. It was similar to the Great Hall in size and shape, in fact it would be an almost an exact replica if not for the fact that the whole room a massive kitchen. Little things were running here there and everywhere placing dishes on the tables, replacing empty dishes with full ones, and Hitsugaya realized this was how the food appeared in the Great Hall; this was the kitchen. He guessed the room was exactly below the hall, and if that was so then the five long tables must be under the house tables and the teachers table; an idea formed in his head. One of the things spotted him and ran over bowing deeply before standing back up.

"Young master has come to the kitchen for food?" Hitsugaya nodded slightly. The creature took his arm with its thin bony hand and practically dragged him to a seat in a small alcove.

"What would young master like to eat?" _I wonder if they would cook anything I asked?_

"Steamed rice and tamagoyaki if you would please." The creature didn't even blink an eye at the Japanese breakfast dishes, just setting out to cook the food for him. It took only five minutes for the creature to get back carrying two plates in its hands which it then set in front of Hitsugaya. The smell coming from the familiar dishes was heavenly and he polished off the plates in record time, still hungry. But he wouldn't have enough time to eat anymore if he wanted to get his books for class. He was almost out the door when he stopped and turned back around; the creature was by his side almost instantly.

"Is there anything else i can do for you young master?" A small smile graced Hitsugaya's features.

"Well there is one thing you can do for me..."

* * *

Hitsugaya arrived on time to his first class of the day – Care of Magical Creatures with Professor Grubbly-Plank; he hadn't had this lesson yet and so he was really hoping that it would be something good, interesting or at least useful – not that he was holding his breath. He made the relatively short trek down to where the class was, taking note of how close the class was to the Forbidden Forest. Everyone was huddled around in small groups in front of what appeared to be someone's house or rather hut, staying close together in an attempt to banish the cold from their frozen extremities. Looking at the students Hitsugaya realised that he'd left his coat in the kitchen and he hadn't even noticed. A few heads turned his way as he walked closer to the class, and he could hear whispers flitting around, with the word 'freak' and 'idiot' tossed around a few times for good measure. He just ignored them and, spotting Harry with his two friends, he walked over.

Harry and Ron were in a discussion about the upcoming Quidditch try-outs on Friday next week – Ron was hoping to get the position of goal-keeper – and Harry as a long-time member of the Quidditch squad was giving him a few pointers. The mood was very light hearted and joyful, that is until Ron saw the short transfer student walking straight towards them. _The bloke's a bloody idiot, doesn't he know that he'll freeze to death, not that I really care much._ Ron watched Hitsugaya with narrowed eyes yet still keeping pace with his conversation with Harry._ If you want to steal my best friend you freak than you have to get through me first; bring it on._

"Oh, hi Toushirou," Hermione said once Hitsugaya was close enough to the group.

"Morning," was his reply as he inclined his head briefly in each of their directions to acknowledge them, his eyes lingering for a fraction of a second longer on Ron. The light mood seemed to dissipate, replaced with an awkward silence. Before any of them could say anything the silence was broken by Professor Grubbly-Plank as she started the lesson. She was crouched over a container that was made of black plastic so Hitsugaya couldn't see in side. Many of the students were craning their necks, getting in closer and closer before Grubbly-Plank stood up straight with a creature in her hands that were thickly gloved in some kind of special material. As soon as the creature was in sight all of the students who had gotten in close all jumped back in disgust and one or two girls even screamed. _Pathetic, but even so that thing is absolutely revolting_. The thing appeared to be a slightly larger than normal snail with a bright orange shell; green liquid was oozing down along the teachers gloves as she held it up for all to see.

"Does anyone know what this is?" There was a small pause and Hitsugaya noticed a lot of people giving Hermione discreet glances, as though expecting her to have the answer. And she didn't disappoint.

"It's a Streeler Professor," she said with almost no hesitation almost like she'd been waiting for that exact question. _I guess she must be smart, though I can't say I'm overly surprised – the Hermione I knew was smart as well._

"Correct Miss Granger, 10 points to Gryffindor. Now, this green, liquidy substance which you see coming from the Streeler is extremely venomous and it's a by-product of their excretion," at this Hitsugaya heard many students whispering among themselves saying things like 'yuck' and 'that's disgusting'. He himself wasn't overly fazed by it and he was just curious to see what its use would be – whether it could be harnessed as a weapon or something like that.

"This venom is so powerful that all vegetation that it passes over is burnt and shrivelled up almost as soon as it comes into contact with the liquid. Also it is one of the few known substances which is capable of killing a Horklump – which we learn about next lesson." _Damn, not useful then. Unless..._ Hitsugaya raised his hand.

"Yes?" Grubbly-Plank looked at him as did all the class.

"You say it burns and shrivels vegetation, but I notice that you're wearing gloves, so what happens if the liquid comes into contact with human flesh?"

"That is a very good question Mr Hitsugaya. Well, when this venomous liquid touches skin it burns like acid, but as soon as it burns through the skin it enters the blood stream and is transported all throughout the body, burning from the inside so to speak. I'm told that it feels similar, but on a much smaller scale, to radiation poisoning." _Not so useless, nice._ He nodded his head slightly in thanks and she continued with the lesson which was nothing too exciting. After about ten minutes everybody was told to split up into pairs where they would then get gloves and their own Streeler to observe and draw. Hitsugaya picked up his over-sized snail after donning gloves and sat down at the edge of the forest slightly apart from the rest of his class. When he had picked up the creature from the box his first thought was to get Harry as a partner, but he saw Ron grab – almost forcefully – Harry and drag him somewhere, giving Hitsugaya a very pointed look as he did so saying 'Get lost, he's my friend not yours.'

He was just placing the creature on the ground when he felt someone approaching. He looked up to see Hermione dropping her bag on the ground next to him and sitting on a log, getting out her sketch book as she sat. He didn't say anything as he got out his book and pencil and the silence between them extended. He finally looked up at her to see she was watching him.

"So, guess we're partners huh?" He drawled and she nodded. He picked up his book and was about to start drawing when he felt she was still looking at him.

"Is there something I can do for you?"

"No."

"Hn."

He once again picked up his book and pencil which he had put down and looked at the Streeler, but he could still feel her watching him and it was starting to make him feel uncomfortable – he hated being watched.

"What?" He snapped at her, turning to face her once more.

"Nothing."

"Then stop staring at me!"

"Ok."

Her one word answers were frustrating him to say the least but he decided he would just ignore her. He started drawing, ignoring her ever-present watchful eyes which, even though she said she would stop, continued to stare.

Hermione just continued to watch Toushirou, trying to figure him out by analysing each move he made. It was like ever since Harry had met him he had been unable to stop thinking about one thing or another and she was pretty sure she knew what he was thinking about. He hadn't shared anything with her yet, but she knew that he had a lot of pressures on his plate at the moment and she wanted to know whether Toushirou would just add to that plate. From what she could gather he really hated being stared at, but he was a master at ignoring her – it was as though he had a lot of practise. _Maybe he has siblings. You know, I know nothing about him, I wonder what his life was like before he moved over here to England._

"Toushirou, can I ask you something?" He looked up at her, looking at her with his amazing, intense aqua eyes. Those eyes held so much more wisdom then a boy of fifteen should be capable of holding; they were mature and seemed to penetrate straight through to her very soul every time they looked at her. She knew why Harry hated them so much.

"You just did. Asking to ask a question really takes away my choice on the matter because no matter what I answer I will be answering a question that you have already asked. Was that the question or did you want to ask another question as well?"

"Another question. What was your life like in Japan? I've never met anyone from so far away before."

"It was certainly different," he answered with a wry smile. When it became clear that he wasn't going to elaborate further she continued to her next question.

"What about your family, do you have brothers or sisters, or are you an only child?" Hitsugaya wondered what all these questions were about. Why did she want to know things about him?

"It's... complicated I guess. What's with all the questions?" She had not expected that answer – what did he mean by complicated?

"How can we be friends if we don't know anything about each other," she told him with a bright smile.

"Friends? You want to be my friend," he asked incredulously. She nodded enthusiastically. _I guess this could work in my favour_, he thought to himself,_ I mean if I'm friends with one of Harry's best friends then it will help me get closer to him_.

"Ok, well continue your questions then."

"Good. Is Japan a nice country?"

"Yes, it's beautiful, even more so in the months when the Sakura trees shed their blossoms – it's like it's snowing, but the colours are all pinks and sometimes white."

"It sounds gorgeous; I'd love to see that one day." Hitsugaya smiled slightly as he thought of the Sakura blossoms and Hermione smiled watching him; she had not seen the transfer student smile, but at the moment he was almost on his way to a full smile. He looked up and there seemed to be a sadness in his eyes before it was gone.

"My turn, it only seems fair that we both know things about the other if this friendship will work. Do you have any siblings?" She shook her head.

"No, I'm an only child. I sometimes wished that I could have a brother or sister, but I have Harry and Ron and they're practically brothers to me so it's all good. My parents are both muggles – people that aren't magic – so when I stay with them I don't often see Harry or Ron, that's mainly during the summer holidays, but they're always there for me."

The little question and answer session continued, all work forgotten, and Hermione and Hitsugaya found out a lot about the other person, even if all Hermione found out about Hitsugaya was usually not very in-depth or personal, but it was a start. The lesson was almost over when Hermione asked the question that had been bugging her almost the whole lesson.

"Toushirou, why did you move over here to England to go to Hogwarts? Didn't you leave all your friends behind by coming here? I mean don't get me wrong, it's great that you're here and that I could become your friend and get to know you a little, but won't people miss you?"

Hitsugaya just stared at her unable to answer. All the questions up until now had been very easy to answer, but this question rendered him speechless. _No Hermione, I didn't leave anybody behind because there was nobody to leave behind; nobody is left to miss me._ Out loud, after clearing his throat, he said,

"Sure, but I felt I would get a better education here at Hogwarts. And it isn't like I can't... visit home in the holidays." His voice almost cracked when he said 'home' but he managed to stay collected just in time for the bell to ring. He immediately stood up and grabbed his bag and Hermione fully expected him to walk off to the next class by himself, but instead he stood and waited for her to pack up and join him on the walk back up to the castle. She hurriedly threw her books in her bag and joined him and they walked in silence to charms.

Before Hermione knew anything about him she had thought of Toushirou's eyes as being too full of wisdom and that opinion hadn't changed, but she realised that there was something else about them that she hadn't noticed and wouldn't have picked up on if she hadn't asked that last question – his eyes were full of an incredible soul-burdening sadness that weighted him down with every move. _Is that why you're here, because something happened at home? Something so bad that would make you look at the world with such sad eyes?_ She hated to see it and it made her heart cry just to see it. _Don't worry Toushirou, I'll be your friend and I'll help you to get through whatever it is that you're going through, I promise._

"I hate it when people stare at me, so could you please stop it." Hermione was pulled out of her thoughts to see Toushirou looking at her slightly annoyed, just to realise that while she had been deep in thoughts her gaze had slid over to and was now fixed on Toushirou. She turned slightly red and averted her eyes.

"Sorry, I didn't realise, I was thinking." Hitsugaya smiled, but Hermione didn't see.

"Don't worry about it, it's ok. Come on and hurry up or we'll be late for class." He quickened his pace fractionally and she did too to keep up.

* * *

Harry sat down in the common room by himself. The room was empty but that was to be expected, it was around midnight. He had just gotten back from another detention with Umbridge – apparently he had done something more to offend her because he now had detention every night for the rest of the week. That meant he would miss the Quidditch try-outs and miss watching Ron's try-out in particular. Angelina, the new captain of the Gryffindor team since Wood left, was not happy at all that Harry would miss them, but Harry had assured her that he truly would rather be there than be in detention with Umbridge. Ron was disappointed, but he got over it quickly when Harry had told him he would try to watch from the window. _Fat chance of that happening. With my luck Umbridge will have had the window boarded up just so I can't look through it._

He looked down at the words etched into his skin from the evil quill he had to use. He hadn't had Defence Against the Dark Arts today, but he would have to warn Toushirou before the lesson tomorrow because she was furious. All through the detention she had kept muttering to herself some hexes of some sort or another but with all of them involving Toushirou's name in some way. _I guess she doesn't like it when people skip detentions_, he thought to himself, laughing slightly. His thoughts turned back to Ron. Since the school term had officially started Ron had seemed a bit... clingy, as though he was afraid of losing Harry, and Harry didn't understand how he could possibly lose him. Was he talking about losing him to Voldemort? It was very confusing, but because of this new attitude Ron never left his side for not even a second, which meant he didn't see Toushirou at all today, except for the occasional glimpse of him in classes – Ron had made it quite clear that he didn't like the new fifth year, and he had told Harry that he could only be with one of them at any one time because Ron would not stay in the same area as Toushirou. But Ron also took away any choice harry had in the matter by sticking to him like glue. It really was starting to annoy him. He hadn't seen Hermione practically all day either, and he didn't know where she had gotten to, but he really needed to talk to her about the things that he had been thinking these past couple of days because, even though Ron was his best friend, Hermione was also his best friend and way better at listening, understanding and helping him then Ron could ever be. And he had a lot of thoughts he needed t tell her of so it could possibly take a while...

_Harry_

Harry snapped straight up. He had been starting to doze in the extremely comfy armchair that he was sitting in, but when he heard his name he was instantly wide awake. His eyes scanned the room but there was no-one there._ Must of been hearing things._ He slowly sank back down into his chair and let his eyelids dip.

_Harry_

Harry jumped up into a standing position, but still nobody was there. But this time there was no mistaking the voice for a dream because he hadn't been nearly asleep like he had last time.

_Why are you so sad Harry? Is it because Hermione has left you when you need her? Or is it because you don't understand your friends' behaviours? I can help you, all you need to do is to listen to my advice, I would never steer you wrong; I'm your only true friend. Listen to me Harry..._

The voice faded away and Harry was definitely spooked. There was still no one in the room besides him and the last time he had heard a voice without any actual person was present a Basilisk was going around trying to kill people with muggle blood; the giant snake being controlled by the diary Tom Riddell, his greatest enemy and fear. But this time was definitely different. For one the Basilisk was dead and the Chamber of Secrets closed and sealed and secondly, and this was what freaked him out and disturbed him most, the voice he had just heard had been his voice and it had been in his head. What did it mean that he was sad, he wasn't sad, and Hermione hadn't left him when he needed her, she simply wasn't around today because she had other things to do; what was there to understand about her behaviour – Ron's behaviour was confusing but not Hermione's. And how could this voice be his only true friend if it was... well if it was him. But as Harry tried to justify each thing the voice had said he couldn't help but feel it was a little hollow. It was as though he didn't believe his own justifications even though he was the one saying them. Somewhere deep inside of him he felt himself secretly agreeing with the unknown voice, and it was thoroughly confusing him. His friends were his friends – his _good _friends, his _best_ friends – not some stupid questionable voice in his head.

_It seems you're undecided about what to do, so I'll leave you alone for now, but remember Harry, I will always be there for you because I am your one true friend and I will never leave you. Others come and go as you've seen your whole life, and one day even those you call best friends will leave you, but I will stay. I can stop the hurt that will come with the eventual betrayal of those that are close to you, but you first need to open up your mind and your heart and let me help you. Listen to my advice Harry; listen to me. When you have your answer I will return. For now it is goodbye..._

The voice faded once more leaving harry shaken. He slowly sank down into his armchair, his eyes wide. He didn't know what had just happened but it scared him a little. _Should I tell someone? Dumbledore? No, people will just think I'm even crazier than they already think. I would become crazy Potter with the outrages claims who hears voices in his head. Yeah that would be just great,_ he thought sarcastically._ Dumbledore keeps avoiding me so I can't tell him. Why is he avoiding me? Have I done something wrong? It just seems that lately, with the major exception of Ron, that everybody is keeping me at arms' length: Dumbledore, Hermione, Fred and George, and even Ginny. What have I done?_ A small seed of doubt crept into his mind and, as traitorous as it was, he couldn't help but think _maybe they're getting ready to leave me, just like the voice said._ He quickly squashed that thought done. _No!_ He thought strongly,_ they aren't leaving me and they aren't going to, they just need space, I know that's what I need, so why is it unreasonable to think that they need it too?_ He lowered his head into his hands. What was he to do? He didn't want to doubt his friends, he had too much faith in them for that, but this voice had confused him, and it didn't help that it was his own voice that he had listened to. What should he do?

Hitsugaya had been sleeping in his comfortable bed. The other boys had accepted that he slept in the cold, which he had thought was strange, but he had welcomed it. So they had made a compromise – Hitsugaya was allowed to have the window next to his bed open but he had to leave the fire and the other windows alone – he had agreed quickly to such a good deal. And now as he slept with the light wind washing over him he felt relaxed and peaceful.

Suddenly his eyes snapped open. He didn't understand what had awoken him at first. He looked around the room with bright alert eyes which instantly spotted the empty bed at the other side of the room.

"Harry..." He whispered the one name just as his sense picked up on strange reiatsu levels coming from the common room. And then it hit him. Astronomical waves of killing intent seeped into every pore in his body and he reacted instantaneously. His Zanpaktou would be too difficult to get to in such a short amount of time so instead he pulled out his wand from under his pillow. He stood poised on the balls of his feet, wand at the ready searching for the killing intent he had felt. But it was suddenly gone; vanished as though it had never been there. With the disappearance of the killing intent he was able to pick up on Harry's aura with his sense that had been momentarily blinded. The aura seemed off; strange, but he couldn't place his finger on it. He lowered his wand and tucked it back under his pillow, completely capable without it.

He soundlessly walked to the door and pulled it open, exiting onto the heavily carpeted, hot stairway leading down to the common room. He saw raven hair raised slightly above the back of an armchair before it dropped forward. Hitsugaya didn't waste a second; for all he knew Harry was dead. _That would certainly solve my problem, but I guess it's a morally wrong solution._ He reached Harry's side to see the boy had his head in his hands, but the rise and fall of his chest in time with his breathing was unmistakable. The boy must be so caught up in his thought that he hadn't even noticed Toushirou standing next to him. Standing in such a close proximity Hitsugaya was able to detect fluctuations in Harry's aura depicting his confusion and the turmoil in his mind. He should have been able to sense that from further away, but he had gotten lazy in his time at Hogwarts; he couldn't afford mistakes so he would just have to sharpen his senses and make them more acute to Harry's particular moods. Also to Ron's because frankly the boy worried him, he was such a bad influence on Harry. _What am I, Harry's mum? I feel like I'm starting to sound like it._ He also wanted to keep an eye on Hermione's moods if not just for the fact that he wanted to make sure she stayed happy because he hated seeing her upset.

Harry's aura fluctuated again and Hitsugaya realised he should probably stop Harry from thinking anymore – probably convince him to go to bed so that he wouldn't think anymore about things that confused and... upset him? Was he reading the aura right? Stupid question of course he was; but if Harry was upset then he should _definitely_ rouse him. He lent over, but not too close, and gently poked the scarred boy in the shoulder. Said boy jumped a mile into the air and jumped back from the person he saw as trying to attack him. When he saw that it was just Hitsugaya he slowly lowered the fists that he had raised.

"Toushirou, sorry 'bout that, it's a good thing I didn't hit you there." _Good thing for you,_ Hitsugaya thought.

"What are you doing here?" Confusion laced his words as he eyed the shorter boy.

"I just woke up and I saw that you weren't in bed and figured you must have fallen asleep down here and figured I should wake you so you could sleep in your own bed – you would get terrible neck cramps if you slept in the armchair all night."

Harry continued to eye him up. For someone who 'just woke up' he was awfully alert, and he didn't look tired in anyway, which he would've if he had just woken up. But he did come down here so Harry wouldn't get a neck cramp, or did he? What he had some ulterior motive for coming down and waking him up? It was too hard to tell, his face gave away no secrets.

"Thanks Toushirou, that was nice of you, goodnight." Harry brushed past the white-haired boy and made his way up to the boys' dormitory and up to his bed; Hitsugaya followed not too long after.

* * *

The next morning at breakfast Hitsugaya had timed everything perfectly so he wasn't too early or too late for the food that was to come, and today he was very happy about what he would eat. The previous day when he had talked to the strange creature it had asked if it could help him with anything and he couldn't pass up the opportunity. And so, starting from today, the Gryffindor table would have, not just the foods it usually had, but also a nice selection of Japanese dishes for him so he would actually be able to eat good for a change. He sat down at the large table in the Great Hall and pulled some rice towards him and he started to eat. And that was how Hermione found him, stuffing his face.

"What a pig Toushirou! And here I thought you hardly ate a thing." She sat down beside him and looked curiously at the new foods around her.

"That's only because I didn't like what I've been eating, but I'm starving so arranged for Japanese food to be put on the table as well."

"Oh, ok. So you asked Professor Dumbledore and he made it possible?" She hesitantly took a suspicious looking dish, willing to try something from another culture. Hitsugaya smiled slightly as he watched her. He commended her bravery, but miso soup would not have been his choice for somebody to have with their first time trying a Japanese dish. She took a spoonful and smiled weakly at him.

"It's delicious, yum!"

"You don't have to lie; miso soup needs... an acquired taste I guess you could say." She stared at him with her mouth open.

"Why did you let me eat it if it needed an 'acquired' taste then? That was just mean. Hmph." She turned her head away from him and took another dish, a nice safe rice dish. He really did commend her bravery; because she just bounced right back and she didn't even know if she would like the rice dish, especially at breakfast. But he could tell she did.

"This really is yum, and I'm telling the truth this time. Isn't it fun eating from other cultures? So you didn't answer my question before, did you talk to Professor Dumbledore, because I would have thought that he would already have had Japanese foods ready for you."

"Well, I didn't ask him per say, but what does it matter?" She looked at him strictly. "Ok, fine, I didn't ask him at all. I went for a walk yesterday and found the kitchen and a asked the strange looking creature to arrange this for me and it agreed." She looked at him questioningly and he went on to describe what the creature looked like. All strictness disappeared from her gaze as it turned into one of glee.

"You found the house elves, now I know where they are so I can go directly to them to help free them! Yay, thank you!"

"You're welcome? But I have to say these house elves didn't look unhappy or like they wanted to be free, in fact they looked like they enjoyed working in the kitchen. But Hermione was no longer listening. She was instead telling him all about her 'free the house elves so they can get fair treatment for their work' plan called-

"Spew? What kind of name is that?"

"Not Spew, S.P.E.W – it stands for the Society for the promotion of Elfish Welfare. That was too long so I abbreviated it, now don't interrupt." He went back to eating. Apparently she was tricking the house elves around the school into picking up items of hand-knitted clothing so they would be set free, but what she wasn't thinking about was whether or not they actually wanted to be free; he would definitely have to take her down to the kitchen herself so he can show her that the elves are perfectly happy down there.

"You're not even listening to me Toushirou, and don't say you were because I asked you a question and you didn't answer." He looked up at her just as the bell rang.

"I got the gist of what you were saying," he said defensively as he slung his bag over his shoulder and the two walked out of the hall talking as though they had been friends for ages. For Hermione she felt completely comfortable talking to Toushirou. Sure he was cold and introverted. And shy, didn't have much patience and could get annoyed easily. And he sometimes had a superiority complex. And could sometimes be bossy and be in charge and could be frustrating, annoying and philosophical when she wanted him to answer a simple question. And he was also very quiet, only talking when it benefited him. But apart from all those minor personality faults he was a very nice person and she was glad that she had been able to get to know him just that little bit more.

Hitsugaya smiled at Hermione as she talked indignantly about him not listening to her. He missed just walking and talking with the girl and it felt nice to be able to once again talk about nonsense and to just walk. He was keeping tabs on Harry and Ron who were just slightly in front – they were on their way to History of Magic – and everything was fine, great in fact. But he was still concerned over last night with Harry, but as long as he didn't let his guard down like that again than everything would be fine. _I wonder what History of Magic will be like; I really, really hope that it's a good teacher. I guess I'll just wait to see won't I._

Hermione and Hitsugaya reached the door for the classroom and Hermione pulled it open and they both walked inside.

* * *

So that was my next chapter with a tiny bit of a cliff-hanger at the end there. What will happen in history of Magic? Who knows.

* * *

Responses to reviews:

The Mythical Pen: Now you can poke the button and get chapter 6 yay! I'm really glad you like my story and I really am trying to keep it close to the events of the fifth book without actually rewriting the fifth book and I did take a few lines from the book and changed them to make them different but with the same sentiment (otherwise i might get sued for copywrite lol) so that's why they sound similar. I hope you keep reading

hizmit12-waterlilly3721: your review made my day, thank you so much. I wouldn't say it's the best but to hear that some people do think that is really, really great and it made me heaps happy. XD

kRyStAlt3aRz: It would be interesting if that happened, in fact i thought it was so interesting I wrote it down on a sticky note (gotta love stickynotes) so I can have it just in case i want to run with that idea, even if it's only to see how Dumbledore would react to the news lol. I decided I'm going to try and make all the chapters about this length from now on, because I know that when I read fanfiction i love to read long chapters so it only makes sense that others do to.

Bokmal14: You can be as enthusiastic as you want to be and I'm glad you still like the story - I must be doing something right lol.

Aoi Faith: Whether Hitsugaya can do magic without a wand or not I haven't decided - in fact I didn't even think of it so thank you for sugesting it. Meeting up with the shinigami would be interesting - what would they say to each other? Another thing you sugested was for Hitsugaya to make friends with Hermione, Ron and Hagrid as well. It was a good idea so I used it thanks a lot! (Well partly, but still...)

Sapphire-angel-gem, RmfD, Lady Queria, Ostfriesin, Ziya Hitsugaya and animeloveramy: Thanks guys for reviewing, I just love reading them yay!

* * *

I'll try and update as quick as I can, but in the mean time you can help me out by reviewing, and also Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. XD


	9. Chapter 7

Hey everyone! So here's my next chapter. It would have been up sooner, but I'm on holidays so I've just been feeling really lazy you know? Thanks to everyone who reviewed you guys are awesome! Hope you enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 7

Hermione and Toushirou entered the dank classroom which was empty except for a few students – Harry and Ron included. Hermione quickly made her way over to her best friends with Hitsugaya following reluctantly.

"Morning guys," she said with enthusiasm. Harry smiled and Ron just grunted, obviously they weren't morning people. Hermione sat down at her desk which was next to Harry's and looked at Hitsugaya as though telling him to do something. They kept looking at each other for a few more minutes before he finally realised what she wanted him to do, so breaking eye contact he looked up at the two Gryffindor boys who were looking at the two of them quizzically.

"Morning Harry, Ron," he said and then sat down in the seat next to Hermione.

Harry raised his eyebrows slightly, not many people were able to understand Hermione's meaningful looks, but looking at his best friend and the transfer it was like a whole silent conversation had taken place.

"Uh yeah morning to you too." An awkward silence hung in the air, nobody really knowing how to break it. _Why does this always happen when the four of us are together?_ Hermione thought to herself. Ron was sending Hitsugaya evil glares over the top of his friends' heads and Hitsugaya just ignored them. To everyone's surprise the silence was broken by the very person whose presence made the silence awkward.

"So is History of Magic a good class?" Three heads turned to look at Hitsugaya. Hermione smiled slightly in gratitude before answering his question.

"It... _is_ interesting, well the subject in general. But the teacher – Professor Binns is, to say the least, very boring. Most people fall asleep during his lectures." Harry nodded his head in agreement.

"Yeah, and he doesn't even notice, and if he does he doesn't care. I don't even know why he stays at Hogwarts to teach when he could probably move onto a better place." That comment sounding really strange even to Hitsugaya who had heard his fair share of strange things before, what did he mean by moving on to a better place? He almost made it sound like the teacher was dead. But that was ridiculous. Hermione and Harry had continued talking about their Professor and hadn't even noticed that he had dropped out of the conversation, but that was fine by him, he usually was a listener anyway. Ron didn't even attempt to listen to his friends as he continued to glare at Hitsugaya. _What is his problem? I guess I'll have to talk to him about it later won't I? How annoying._

"Well if it isn't the short mudblood, I guess you told me the truth when you said you would be in the fifth year." Harry and Ron immediately jumped in to aid Hermione who they thought Malfoy was talking to.

"Get lost Malfoy, Hermione's way better than you in everything so don't you dare call her a mudblood!" Harry shouted at Malfoy, his brow furrowed in barely suppressed anger. Ron stood next to him with his fists clenched so tight his knuckles were turning white. _I suppose this means that the term 'mudblood' is meant to insult someone,_ Hitsugaya thought to himself.

"Shut up Potter, I wasn't even talking to Granger, like I would want to associate myself with her," he said as he stuck his nose up into the air as though to show his superiority. "I was in fact talking to the freak, so butt out." He turned to Hitsugaya who just watched him with an emotionless face. He didn't know why being called a 'mudblood' was so insulting, but he wasn't about to get worked up about it.

"So what have you got to say for yourself freak? Or are you just too awed by my presence that your tiny little brain can't even think of something to say as a comeback." Two boys who stood behind Malfoy sniggered dumbly at this. They looked like thugs and barely evolved primates. Hitsugaya raised an eyebrow, the only change in his emotionless face. The fact that Malfoy couldn't get a substantial response out of the icy boy only helped to enrage him. But, keeping his cool he lowered his voice so only Hitsugaya could hear.

"I'd watch your back if I were you, you never know when someone might just stab it." He straightened up and motioned for his cronies to follow him and then they went to find a seat somewhere behind him. Hitsugaya knew a threat when he heard one but he didn't overly care much about it, there was nothing that a mere fifteen year old human could do to him that would hurt him in the slightest. Hermione leaned over to her and friend and asked if he was ok.

"Yeah, fine. He's all talk, there is no way he would actually do anything." Hermione seemed pleased with the response and sat up straight.

"Here comes the teacher now." Hitsugaya looked to the door but it stayed closed.

"Good Morning class, please open your textbooks to page ten." Hitsugaya's head snapped to the front to source out the monotonous droning voice of someone that could only be the teacher, but the he hadn't even seen the door open. What he saw at the front of the classroom made his eyes widen in surprise. Standing at the front of the classroom was the strangest looking ghost he had ever seen; it didn't even have a soul chain. The monotone drifted around the classroom and already some students looked as though they were asleep, even Hermione didn't look as alert as she had two minutes ago. _What do I do? What would happen if I tried a soul burial? Would it even work, it looks as though my sword would just pass straight through. _

A hand lightly touched his arm and he jumped slightly and turned his head towards Hermione.

"Are you alright Toushirou? Have you never seen a ghost before? I know it can seem a bit freaky at first but you get used to it I promise." She sent him a reassuring smile before turning back to concentrate (sleep) on the lesson. Hitsugaya also turned towards Binns who was spouting complete nonsense about some goblin rebellion. Every class so far had been a waste of his time. He soon found his thoughts drifting and he casually slid his eyes in the direction of his new friend. Every time he looked at Hermione Granger he was reminded of a different girl from a different time. The one he remembered was older and had slightly shorter and darker hair, but overall she looked almost the same.

He remembered the first time he had met her; it had been during a skirmish on the outskirts of the 34th district in Rukongai. His division had been sent along with members of the sixth division to hold off the hollows that were attempting to break through to get to Seireiti. While they had been lower class hollows and were easily beaten, what they lacked in power they made up for in numbers. If you killed on hollow three more would take its place. Realising the foolishness of continuing to attack head on the Shinigami pulled back slightly and regrouped to form a different strategy. It was decided to surround the hollows from all sides and to attack from all sides so more hollows couldn't possibly come. Hitsugaya led his team around to the right side and got ready to attack. There had been a few houses scattered around but all the residents had abandoned them when hollows were spotted in the area. The hollows, being the dumb, mindless creatures they are, didn't notice what the Shinigami were doing until too late. A signal was given and they all rushed in from different places and successfully surrounded the now trapped hollows and attacked them. Hitsugaya had been about to follow his team when he heard a small noise from inside one of the deserted houses.

_He carefully crept over and glanced in to make sure it wasn't an enemy before sneaking in. On the floor was a girl who looked around nineteen though it was hard to tell because her hair hung down over her face. He knelt down and rolled her over. Eyes that had been closed snapped open to reveal chocolate coloured eyes and he couldn't help but compare how similar this girl looked to his childhood friend had his friend been a bit older. Her hair hung down to just past her shoulders and it wasn't dirty like most inhabitants of Rukongai; actually, on a whole, her appearance was much better kept than someone from district 34. That meant she must be new – or to put it more bluntly, she had just died and passed over to Soul Society. She looked at him with wide eyes taking in his appearance from his snowy white hair and unusual aqua eyes to his bloodstained haori and Shinigami uniform._

"_M-my name's H-Hermione Granger, who are you?" He continued to look at the girl before answering._

"_Hitsugaya Toushirou, Captain of the tenth division of the Gotei 13." She looked at him quizzically, all fear banished from her eyes._

"_Do you remember anything before waking up here?" He questioned and instantly regretted it as her eyes clouded over in sadness. She hung her head forward and nodded._

"_Am-am I d-dead?" She asked it in a small voice and he felt sorry for her. He wasn't good at this whole comforting thing and he had never met a new soul before and so he didn't know what to say. Well that wasn't any use sugar coating it._

"_Yes," he stated simply._

"_Will you be fine here; I need to go back outside to help my squad fight." Her face brightened and he thought it was because he was going to leave her inside, out of the fighting._

"_I can help you, when I was alive I was a witch – a very skilled one at that if I do say so myself." And before he could object she was rushing outside, drawing from inside her simple yukata a piece of wood – her wand. He could only stand and watch as she cast spell after spell, taking down numerous hollows._

_When the fighting was down and all the Shinigami retreated back to Seireiti, Hitsugaya took Hermione with him to see the Soutaicho. Hermione was the first magical soul to actually reach Soul Society ever since the wizards had joined the war and her skills and talents could be put to very good use. The Soutaicho told Hitsugaya that Hermione would be placed in his squad and he would teach her everything he knows about Shinigami and how to be a Shinigami. In return Hermione would teach him all the spells she knew and also teach a magic class to any interested Shinigami._

_She had been a great Shinigami,_ he thought to himself,_ right up until the end_. They had formed a close bond of friendship and when she was killed by one of the people most dear to her he had been devastated. But now, sitting beside her in class, it was like he could almost forget the future, a future he didn't want to remember.

Hermione felt his stare on her, but at the same time it was distant. She turned her head slightly and saw that, while Toushirou was looking at her, his eyes looked like they were in the past, remembering something. She continued to look at him until his eyes regained there usually brightness and he snapped out of whatever memory he had been in. They looked at each other for a few seconds before Toushirou turned away and looked back to the front. She smiled to herself before following his example.

Ron narrowed his eyes as he watched that slimy git stare at Hermione almost the whole lesson, and when Hermione noticed all she did was stare at him! What was going on? If he wasn't careful he could lose not one, but both of his best friends to the same person. He would not let that happen, not at all. He casually lent over to Harry and whispered so no one else could hear.

"Hey, at lunch, do you and Hermione wanna come with me to explore some of the Forbidden Forrest."

"When did you need to ask, of course I would, I'll just ask Hermione." Leaning over to his other side he repeated Ron's proposition to the girl. She looked at him like he had just grown a second head.

"They are out of bounds, you do know that right? Well I might as well, because you would still go even if I didn't wouldn't you? Can Toushirou come?" Harry nodded.

"Duh, he is one of our friends, ask him." So Hermione leant over and tapped Toushirou's shoulder. He lifted his gaze to meet hers.

"We're going to explore the Forbidden Forrest at lunch, want to come?"

Hitsugaya mulled the question over for a few minutes. At lunch he had planned to do a bit of researching in the library and find out more on this Voldemort character, but if everyone else was going to the Forbidden Forrest... He could always go to the library later that night.

"Sure, sounds like fun."

"Great!"

The rest of the lesson – only about ten minutes left – went by as slowly and as boringly as the start of the lesson had gone. If he wasn't so sure that it was impossible, Hitsugaya would have thought that he was going to die of boredom. He hung back while the others students attempted to leave as quickly as possible, pretending to place his textbook and quill inside his bag. He was just thankful that nobody realised that he hadn't followed them out the door, and soon he and the teacher were the only people in the room. He slowly stood up straight and nimbly jumped down the desks and landed in front of Professor Binns in a cat-like stance. Binns looked at the strange student as he rose from his stance. He had never seen a student act like this before but he was too old to think much.

"Hello Professor, I'm the new transfer student, and I was just wondering, what are you?" Aqua eyes met transparent grey ones and Binns eyes widened; the first change in facial expression for years.

"Who are you boy?" A strange feeling started to creep along his body, a feeling he had completely forgotten as he hadn't felt it since he had last been alive; he felt fear. Fear of this unusual student who watched him with calculating eyes.

"How is it that you have no soul chain?" _Soul chain_, the scared Professor thought to himself. And then he remembered a hazy memory, one that had happened so, so long ago, soon after he first died. He had been more solid and he had a... chain sticking out of his chest. The Head Master of the time – it had been so long he couldn't even remember who it had been – had offered for him to stay at Hogwarts, but warned that if the chain disappeared he would become a monster. Not wanting to be a monster Binns had pleaded with the Head Master for another way and another option was presented, though it wasn't ideal. A spell could be cast to take away the chain so that he wouldn't become a monster, but the cost of that would mean that he would be stuck in limbo, unable to go to Heaven or Hell.

Binns looked at the boy who waited patiently and explained all he had remembered, hoping that the boy would leave him alone.

_That must be what happened to all the other ghosts here as well, which means that a soul burial won't work._

"Professor, can I trust that you will not speak of this little... chat to anyone – including Professor Dumbledore?"

"Y-yes, of course. You have my word."

"Good, because I will know if you go back on your word, and I can say now, I wouldn't be very happy. Good day Professor."

With a blink of the eye – though Binns didn't need to blink – the student was gone.

Lunch time rolled around quickly, the classes seeming to just fly by. Hitsugaya briskly walked to the Great Hall, hoping that they hadn't left without him, though he could sense all three of the golden trio in the Great Hall, and it wasn't like he wouldn't be able to catch up, but it was the principal of the matter – nobody likes getting left behind. He instantly stopped walking in the middle of the hallway. _Why would I care if they left me behind?_ He shook his head to dislodge any thoughts and continued. _Ridiculous..._

Harry saw Toushirou enter the hall looking preoccupied. Ron was chatting away happily while eating about how much fun their little 'adventure' was going to be, and Harry couldn't help but feel uneasy; neither him nor Hermione had mentioned the fact that they had invited another person along.

"Hey, Harry, Hermione, let's get going, I'm so excited! Friend bonding time, woo!" Harry and Hermione looked at each not quite knowing what to make of Ron's attitude – 'Friend bonding time'?!

"Um Ron... We just have to wait for, uh, one more person. We, uh, kinda invited him as well." Ron instantly looked suspicious.

"Who?" His voice had gone dead-pan, completely different to the enthusiastic tone of two seconds ago. He had an idea who it was, but he was really hoping it wasn't.

Harry looked up to see Toushirou walking towards them.

"Hey Toushirou, well we're all here, so we might as well get going, right?" Ron's face resembled a thundercloud. Out of everyone they could have invited they invited him. Hell he'd have even taken Malfoy over that white-haired freak. Not bothering to answer Ron stalked off a head, forcing Harry and Hermione to quicken their pace to keep up with him.

The walk down to the forest was silent and awkward, though it didn't bother Hitsugaya like it did the other three. When they entered the forest another type of silence descended upon them; an eerie, foreboding silence. Hermione cleared her throat loudly.

"So, we're here, how about we split up to find a good place to sit and talk?" Everybody agreed to her suggestion instantly, if not just to hear their own voices and make sure they were still there.

"Who wants to go with whom?" She continued, though her voice wasn't nearly as strong as it usually was.

"I'll go with Ron." All heads turned to look at Hitsugaya who looked impassive and uncaring. _Did he just offer to go with Ron_, Harry thought to himself. _Even though he knows that Ron hates him? I will never understand you Toushirou._

Hermione nodded enthusiastically. "Great! So when you find a good place, I don't know, maybe, hmm, I guess you could whistle." When everything was decided the two groups of two went separate ways and started to trek through the dense foliage.

Hitsugaya briefly glanced at Ron who was determined to not make any eye contact at all. That was fine, because the only reason why he had offered to go with Ron was so he could clear a few things up. He didn't know what the problem was, but he wasn't a genius for nothing so he could probably guess that Ron was scared of losing his best friends to him. But whatever the problem, his dark attitude that he was constantly exuding was having a bad effect on Harry and he could not let it continue. So he would either convince him to have a better attitude or, if necessary, he would eliminate the threat. If Ron showed no signs of improvement Hitsugaya might just be forced to kill him, which he would not hesitate to do. Any threat to his mission would be taken of accordingly.

When they were very far away from the other two Hitsugaya stopped. They were in a very small clearing surrounded on all sides by very dense trees and undergrowth, so even if Harry and Hermione had been two steps away they still wouldn't have seen anything._ Perfect._

Ron also stopped when he noticed his companion had stopped. He looked around him and saw that the clearing they were in was completely unsuitable for what they wanted. It wouldn't nearly fit all four of them sitting down. He turned and looked at Toushirou and what he saw made his blood run cold. The transfer student was standing a few steps away and he was looking at Ron with cold, hard, emotionless eyes. He had never felt intimidated or scared of the student before unlike so many others, but standing here now with the realisation that he was by himself, in a forest he wasn't meant to be in where nobody could see or hear him, standing not five feet away from someone who looked like he wouldn't hesitate to kill, Ron was terrified.

"T-this is-isn't a good s-spot, we should k-keep walking." Hitsugaya moved forward a few steps, closing the distance between them, until there was less than a step between them.

"Ron, what is your problem with me? Are you jealous, is that it?" A cold sweat broke out on Ron's face as he hastily nodded.

"I really dislike the glares that you always give me in class, and this negative, jealous attitude of yours will only bring people down. So because I'm such a nice guy, I'll give you a chance to change your attitude. If it hasn't changed by tomorrow, I may be forced to do something unpleasant, do you understand me?" Ron gulped before nodding again. He stood nearly two heads taller than this guy yet his stare made him feel so much smaller. The threat only helped to make him more terrified, what would he do if he didn't stop thinking jealous thoughts? It didn't even bear thinking about.

A whistle cut through the tense atmosphere surrounding the two and Hitsugaya had instantly placed some distance between the two.

"Remember what I said Ron," he said before disappearing through the trees in the same direction the whistle had come from. Ron hurried to follow him so he wouldn't get lost, but no matter how hard he tried to listen to the others footsteps he heard nothing. _This guy is unreal, who, no what is he?_ After a while he made it to the area the others were and he saw the three of them talking and laughing like old friends, Hitsugaya acting as though nothing had happened. Jealousy gnawed at his stomach and Hitsugaya's head snapped up to look at him with those cold eyes, and the jealous thoughts were gone. _How had he known?_ Hermione also looked up and saw Ron.

"There you are, come on, sit down. Are you ok? You look like you've seen a ghost." He shook his head and smiled weakly at her before sitting down.

"I'm fine, it's just that this forest can be... spooky."

The rest of lunch passed quickly as did the rest of the day. Ron could feel those intense eyes following his every move, watching and waiting for him to slip up. By the end of the next day he could only sigh in relief knowing he had passed through the two days with a lighter attitude, no jealous thoughts at all. He could still feel himself under scrutiny, but it wasn't nearly as frequent or as intense as it had been.

* * *

It had been a few weeks since the incident in the Forbidden Forest and Harry, Hermione and Hitsugaya had all drawn closer, though Harry still kept him at arm's length. He hadn't heard the mysterious voice again and he really hoped that was because it had left him alone. Even just thinking about the creepy moment in the common room made the hair on his arms rise. Ron had gone back to his normal self, for which Harry was increasingly grateful of, he no longer seemed to be clingy like he had at the start of the year, and with his change in attitude it felt as though a weight had lifted off his chest.

He was right now sitting in the library doing his potions homework with Toushirou sitting across the table doing who-knows-what considering he always seems to finish his homework within an hour of getting it. Pretending to read a book Harry looked at his companion, the person he, just a little hesitantly, calls a friend. His emotions about the boy were a lot less conflicted as he had gotten to know him, but he still got the feeling that there was something hidden beneath the surface, something that they were all missing. He had been able to talk to Hermione a couple of weeks back and she had told him not to worry about it. It had been good to speak to her; she seemed to know just what to say to make him feel better. Hogwarts life had settled into an easy routine of lessons, free time and being pestered by Malfoy. The Slytherin boy couldn't stand the fact that his insults just rolled off Toushirou as easily as water on a ducks back, and so he had made it his mission to find a way to insult the boy that would get any sort of reaction; he had been unsuccessful so far.

Hitsugaya was reading a book on Dark Arts: Spells of the trade; thankfully no-one had seen the title of the book; he really didn't need any rumours about him becoming a dark wizard. He had recently found out that there had been a major rumour concerning the train incident, but he immediately squashed the rumour, along with all ridiculous spin-off rumours. And since then he had sent a frosty glare at anyone he found talking about it. Honestly, rumours at Hogwarts were worse than in Soul Society, and that was saying something! He had since been cautious not to do anything to provoke any more annoying gossip. Across from him Harry was meant to be doing his potions homework, but he got the distinct feeling that the scarred boy was more preoccupied with staring at him. It seemed to be a habit of his new friends, to stare at him when they didn't think he was looking. While things had settled down for the most part, Hitsugaya had the feeling that this was just the calm before the storm. Ron had made a commendable effort to control his thoughts, but it was obvious to him that the red-haired boy still hated him, though he put up with him – whether that was out of fear for himself or loyalty to Harry and Hermione he couldn't tell.

Thankfully Hitsugaya was able to do his homework in record time, a talent much commented on by those around him, so it gave him more free time to think and to concentrate on his surroundings. Though he got the feeling that two of his teachers – Umbridge and Snape – were giving more homework than they usually would, just to see if he could do it; neither of them liked him much. Snape was always watching him in class – it must be a British thing, to stare rudely at people – and assessing the potions he made. He was careful to not make the same mistake he had that first potions lesson, that would prove to be a dangerous thing – Snape was already suspicious of him.

Umbridge on the other hand hated him because she didn't feel that he gave her any respect, which he didn't really. He had no reason to respect someone who didn't respect him, nor had she done anything to deserve his respect. Ever since he had skipped out on that detention she had given him she had tried countless times to put him on detention, though he never showed up.

But school was a trivial matter, something that just wasted time that had no other purpose but to be wasted and, frankly, he was bored. Nothing was challenging enough for the young genius, and while he did enjoy his intellectual discussions with Hermione every now and again, her own intellect was nowhere near high enough to satisfy his own for any long period of time. It was getting to a stage where he wished that he had some paperwork to complete, not that he would ever have to do paperwork ever again. That was a depressing thought. He let out an almost inaudible sigh. He had been feeling this strange feeling in his chest lately, an almost tugging sensation, but he knew it wasn't any physical problem. He had never encountered it before and because of it he had found himself thinking more and more of the happy memories he had of before the war. It hadn't really sunk in yet that everyone was dead, but he sometimes felt these past few weeks that he was betraying the memory of everyone he had known, that he was letting them down by sitting around idly.

So far, except for that one week with Ron's jealousy, Hitsugaya had found nothing wrong concerning Harry and his supposed 'falling to the dark side'. In fact Harry acted just any normal teenager would – he was rash, impulsive and his mood swings were great, one minute being happy and then the next angry. But that was how teenagers acted – that was how Kurosaki Ichigo had acted at the exact same age. _Am I even needed here? What if the text books were wrong and there is absolutely nothing I can do to change the events that I have seen happen? Is Harry being influenced or is he just a bad egg?_ He gazed at Harry, who had given up on looking at him and was actually doing his homework. _Sure he complains a lot, and he likes to argue, but I haven't really seen anything that would indicate that he was... evil._ He would just have to reserve judgement for now. But if it did turn out that Harry was just plain evil from the beginning at least he would be there to kill him when the time came.

* * *

It was after dinner and Hermione and Hitsugaya were sitting underneath a big tree on the grounds.

"So did you finish that essay for transfiguration yet? Wait, no, stupid question, of course you have!"

"I have; what about you?" Hermione shook her head and looked up at the cloudy sky up above.

"Not yet, I had to do that 12 inch Defence Against the Dark Arts report. It looks like it's going to rain soon; I can already feel the cold in the air." She wrapped her cloak tighter around herself as twilight settled upon the grounds. She looked over towards Toushirou and saw he was only wearing the short sleeved button up shirt of the Hogwarts uniform.

"Are you crazy, it's almost winter! You'll freeze to death." A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth at her words.

"I like the cold; it doesn't bother me too much." She looked at him as though he was crazy.

"You're crazy! Even if you don't think you're cold you can still get sick." She looked at his shirt again. The Hogwarts shirt he was wearing was intended for summer, not winter, so it was made of a lighter material, and she couldn't help but admire the way it clung nicely to his form which, she hadn't noticed before, was quite muscular. He slowly stood up.

"Fine we'll go in, but that's just so _you_ don't die of pneumonia or something like that." And with that he started to walk up towards the castle with Hermione walking closely behind. She inspected the way he walked; it was almost with an unnatural grace not from this world with him making hardly, to no sound at all. Walking beside him she felt like the noisiest, most ungraceful klutz around. _I wonder why I never noticed this before._ It was the first time she had really looked at Hitsugaya before. Sure she had looked at him, but never _looked_ at him. His aqua eyes stood out against his chiselled, pale skin, and his pure snowy hair was stylishly arranged with one part coming down across his face. Looking at him at this moment the only word she could think of to describe him as was 'gorgeous'. Not many fifteen year olds would have been able to manage that level of perfection that he had, and frankly she was surprised that he wasn't more popular with the girls. They probably couldn't get past his cold and icy demeanour. Hermione smiled to herself. Too bad they just didn't take the time to get to know the real Hitsugaya Toushirou, the one underneath all that ice, because under it all he really was just a nice, caring guy. To be honest she hadn't truly gotten that far under the ice – it was very thick – but she was starting to see that personality shining through. A small blush started to form over her cheeks as she thought of how nice he had been to her, and to a lesser extent Harry, and to a much, much lesser extent Ron. Suddenly her thoughts stopped dead. _Wait! What am I thinking? Toushirou's just a friend, so why do I keep thinking of him as gorgeous, and why am I blushing?! Oh no, I hope he doesn't turn his head and see me blushing – not that I care what he thinks! Right? Wait! No, that's impossible. I do __**not**__ like Hitsugaya Toushirou! Why am I trying so hard to convince myself? Oh, I'm so confused._ Hermione ducked her head and let her hair hang down over her reddened face. When they got up to the Common Room, she quickly muttered a good night and hurried off to the girls' dormitories.

Hitsugaya frowned slightly. He hadn't even said anything, so why was she upset? People were just too hard to even try to figure out. Suddenly he felt a weight settle down on his shoulders and his eyes widened. _Impossible..._ His walked over to the window and threw it open; ignoring the dirty glares the now cold Gryffindors were giving him. His sensitive senses picked up on where the reiatsu was immediately and he closed the window, much to everyone's relief. The pressure he had felt just then had been a hollow and his senses had pin-pointed its location to be in the Forbidden Forest. He hastily made his way up to the dormitory, hoping that it was empty. Luck seemed to be on his side as he found out when he strode into the empty room. He went to his trunk and started to take everything out quickly until he came to a false bottom. If somebody walked in now he would be asked a lot of uncomfortable questions he wasn't sure he would be able to answer. Opening the false bottom Hitsugaya withdrew the item that had been in there before throwing everything back into the trunk not bothering to close it. He changed his clothes into looser fitting track pants and a loose shirt. They weren't ideal clothes, unlike his Shinigami uniform, but under the circumstances they would have to do.

He strode over to the window by his bed and flung it open. A gust of wind immediately greeted him and he welcomed it before standing on the window pane and jumping down into the dark, cloudy night.

He landed nicely in a cat-like stance on the well kept grounds of Hogwarts, rising slowly to see if there was anyone around. When he saw that there wasn't he shunpo-ed to the hollows location. It felt good to be running at such a speed again, without fearing death if he stopped. He could feel that the hollow was relatively weak and he would be able to defeat it in a few attacks, but he wasn't about to underestimate it. After all it had gotten past Hogwarts defence system – whatever that may be – so it was probably safe to say that it was suppressing some of its power. A true smile spread across his face. Finally something worthwhile to do.

When he came into the clearing that the hollow was in he was greeted by an unexpected surprise. His eyes widened in surprise, but it was only for a split second before battle instincts took over. He un-sheafed Hyourinmaru just in time to block a potentially deadly blow. After that he went on the offensive, giving blow after blow, forcing his opponent to lose ground, until they were backed up into a tree. Hitsugaya had been right, this hollow, or more accurately 'arrancar', was extremely weak, the mere pressure of Hitsugaya's reiatsu making it feel light headed and ready to faint. He narrowed his eyes. He recognised this arrancar; he was one of General Potter's Fracion. And there was no way he had gotten into Hogwarts by himself.

"How did you get here?" The Fracion turned its head slightly to not make eye contact, its blade trembling.

"I will repeat myself, how did you get here?" His voice dripped with deadly menace laced with the promise of no mercy. When he saw that the Fracion was going to prove useless for further questioning he raised his reiatsu some more and cut his blade through the Fracion's blade, continuing straight through into the half deformed hollows mask and through its head, killing it instantly. He didn't even break a sweat. But he did learn some new things. It meant General Potter knew where he had gone and had sent people after him, possibly even coming back in time himself. That Fracion had merely been sent to see if Hitsugaya truly was here at Hogwarts. It deliberately came through the security system –with help h would assume – and had then raised its reiatsu enough so that he would notice it. It had been a suicide mission because if he killed it, it would mean that there was a Shinigami at Hogwarts, and considering the timeline, Shinigami weren't yet aware of the existence of wizards, so by that logic he was the only possible person who could have killed that Fracion.

"Damnit!" He sheafed Hyourinmaru and sat down on a rock, placing his head in one hand. If it was true and he had been found than things could start to get nasty around Hogwarts – exactly what he didn't need! _I need to think this over for a bit_.

* * *

At the same time Hitsugaya was leaving the castle to fight the arrancar, Hermione was sitting on her bed thinking of what an idiot she had been. She had rudely brushed off Toushirou when they had gotten to the common room and she felt bad. _I guess I'll just have to apologise tomorrow. Man, I'm such an idiot!_ She curled up under her warm blankets and let sleep start to claim her.

A bright light surrounded her and encompassed her. She got the vague feeling of being cold before she opened her eyes. It was completely dark outside and she couldn't even see her own hand. She slowly rested her head back down on the pillow to let sleep take her again. This time there was no vague feeling of cold, instead all she could think about was the mind-numbing cold freezing her to her very core. The light was back and she forced her heavy eyelids to open. What she saw was not what she was expecting. She had expected to wake up in her bed in the dormitory to probably find some idiot had opened a window, but instead all she saw for miles was... ice? She was on an empty plain of ice and she had the unusual and strange feeling that she was intruding in somewhere she wasn't meant to be. The light reflected off the ice might it more intense, almost blinding her. She drew her cloak around herself tightly, attempting to draw whatever heat she could from it to no effect. Her breath came out in thick white puffs to emphasise how cold the surrounding air was.

She heard a _swooshing_ sound and she jumped up and spun around only to come face to face with the most terrifying sight she had ever seen. Standing a few metres away from her was a tall, proud-looking dragon that towered over her incredibly smaller body. But the strange thing about this dragon was that it looked to be made completely from ice.

"Human, do you know who I am?" It had a deep booming voice and the only answer she could muster came out as a small 'no' that sounded more like a squeak.

"I am the mighty dragon of this ice plain. I cannot tell you my name as that would be a betrayal to my master, but I seek you out young human so that you can help one that is dear to me. Hitsugaya Toushirou, my master and friend. We have developed a bond that runs strong and deep, with nothing being able to break it. But unfortunately, though it is not broken, due to things that have happened in the past, it is buried deep down under ice and snow." Hermione's eyes widened to the size of saucers. Toushirou was the master of this magnificent ice dragon!? What kind of dream was this?

"This is no dream. I am unable to help Toushirou at this present moment in time so I need you to help him, to unbury the bond so that the two of us can once more become one. Only then will he be able to succeed in his courageous quest." _What was this dragon saying? _The dragon spoke in metaphors, but she didn't understand what it meant. What quest was it talking about?

"I know this may seem hard to take in, and what I am about to show to you will probably make you even more confused, but understand that it is all true. Are you ready?" It looked at her with red icy eyes, so similar yet so incredibly different to Toushirou's eyes. She didn't know what it wanted her to do, or what it was going to show her, but if it offered her the chance to rid Toushirou of his sad eyes than she would take it. She had, after all, promised herself that she would help him to get through whatever it is that he was going through. Looking straight into the dragon's eyes she nodded her head. It lowered one wing down in front of her and she instinctively knew to touch it.

Her vision blurred and reformed into visions. It was like she was watching Toushirou's life starting from the moment he met his granny and a girl named Hinamori Momo. She watched on, learning about Rukongai and Soul Society as Toushirou did so long ago. She watched as he was teased and picked on because of his unusual features and cold attitude; as he met Matsumoto Rangiku and soon became a Shinigami. All these terms assaulted her senses, imprinting themselves on her brain. She was horrified as she watched Toushirou be forced to fight his best – and only – friend, Kusaka, all over a Zanpaktou – Hyourinmaru, the legendary dragon of ice. His life flashed before her eyes so quickly she felt strained to keep up. And then it got to the invasion of Ryouka in Seireiti. From there things went downhill as suspicions were cast and the divisions were split. The end result was three respected Taichos betraying Soul Society and leaving to Hueco Mundo, the home of the hollows. The Winter War – as it was called – was full of bloodshed and death. Hermione felt sick and repulsed as she watched Shinigami after Shinigami dying in front of Toushirou, and even as Toushirou cut down the enemies mercilessly.

And then at one particular year everything changed. The year was in fact the year she was living in right now. At the end of the year wizards and Shinigami were forced to meet as Aizen teamed up with the darkest wizard of all time – and it wasn't Voldemort. She couldn't help but gasp and shudder as she saw her best friend, the person she had known since they were eleven, killing innocent people. Silent tears ran down her face as she saw the havoc the dark wizards and Aizen's army were making in both Soul Society and the real world. She watched as Toushirou ran through the streets of a Japanese town – Karakura if she wasn't mistaken – heading towards a clinic. She watched as the battle ensued there, leaving Toushirou unable to move and unable to save the boy she knew as Ichigo and his friend Rukia. The whole thing was tragic.

A few years of bloody, death filled memories passed and then the visions slowed slightly. It was of a skirmish on the outskirts of the 34th district in Rukongai and Toushirou was leading a small group of men around the hollow as part of a strategic plan to surround the hollows. She watched as the boy she knew commanded his men, all who obviously respected and admired him so much, arranging them in position. But as they charged into battle Toushirou paused and turned to one of the houses and walked in. The sight that met her made her gasp in surprise. The face that looked up was older and more mature, true, but the features were so obviously hers it wasn't funny. Her guess was then shown to be right as the woman introduced herself as Hermione Granger. She looked only around nineteen or twenty which meant... She was going to die in four or five years!

After that the visions continued to at the pace they had been going at before and she watched as she slowly became a Shinigami under the watchful eye of a white-haired angel. Though his past was so full of bloodshed, as both their futures were as well, the two Shinigami found solstice in each other's company. Toushirou had been so hurt by his best friend Hinamori when she had betrayed him that first time before the winter war, and then after her death at the hands of the man she had admired and loved Toushirou had been devastated. But Hermione helped to heal his wounds, both old ones and new, and soon friendship grew into something more. She watched, enthralled as they shared their first kiss under the moonlight by his favourite river. Time moved on, and as she had found out from his earlier life, all good things for Toushirou must come to an abrupt and painful end. This time it was in the form of Hermione's second death at the hands of... She stiffened; she couldn't even think it. Of all the people to have killed why was it that person? Her heart ached as Toushirou's life continued and he grew colder and more distant with each passing day. It was easy to see that the Shinigami were losing, and that was made painfully obvious when she saw Matsumoto be killed by... Harry. Toushirou had run to the library and had performed a spell to come back in time to stop this from happening.

Her vision blurred before returning to normal. She hesitantly lifted her hand of the frozen wing, her fingers numb from the cold. Her heart went out to the brave soul that had lived through so much heart ache and pain, yet still had the strength to try and make a difference. The tears on her face were frozen solid, yet they continued to spill silently from her chocolate brown eyes. She would help Toushirou to mend his wounds and she would also help him to stop Harry from becoming a... a blood-thirsty monster! She raised her head to make eye contact once more with the ice dragon who she now knew to be Hyourinmaru. When she spoke her voice no longer help any of the fear it had before, but only a grim determination.

"I will help him, I promise you that." The dragon inclined its head in thanks and the last things she heard as she slipped out of Toushirou's inner world were:

"You will need to convince him to let you help him; he can be quite stubborn. To first get his attention call him by his rank, and then proceed to tell him whatever you want to let him know that you can help. Just do not tell him that I helped you." The cold disappeared into the toasty warmth of the girls' dormitory as she once more opened her eyes. She could feel wet tracks on her face made by her tears and she slowly lifted her head. It was still dark, but not as dark, and she could see the hints of dawn break on the horizon out of the window. She sunk back down into her warm cacoon and fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Review Replies:

The Mythical Pen: thanks for the help you gave me, it's much appreciated and if you see anything else that needs improving don't hesitate to tell me.

deathnoteno1fan-codegeasslover: I'm glad you like the story and about miso soup being an acquired taste i just made that up, so it might not be. And you have an awesome name, but unfortunately I must say you can't be the no 1 fan of deathnote because that position is already taken by me lol XD

Lady Queria: lol, I wish I could have seen your eyes bugging out of your head cartoon style, that would have been hilarious - and I'm pretty sure this chapter has more words in it, how will your poor eyes survive? lol. I always love reading your reviews so keep sending them *hint hint, nudge nudge*

Ziya Hitsugaya: Notice anything familiar about some of this chapter? lol thanks heaps for the plot sugestion. I was thinking about doing something like that but i couldn't think of how to do it so your idea was much appreciated XD

4marauders, kRyStAlt3aRz, Obscure Stranger, animeloveramy, Sapphire-angel-gem and Flamelord99: You guys are amazing, I just love reading reviews, thanks heaps and I hope you keep reading my story.

* * *

Hopefully I can have the next chapter up soon, but until then the review button awaits! Also if anyone has any ideas they wanted to share with me that would be great. I may or may not use them because I have a plan for some things i'm going to do, but as I found out in this chapter it's handy to have plot suggestions that will fit in smoothly with the story.


	10. Chapter 8

Hey everyone! Sorry for the really long wait for this chapter, but I had to settle back into a school routine :( and I also had million tests to do - don't you just love that? But anyway, I rote an extra log chapter to compensate for the long wait so I hope you enjoy. And also a huge thanks to everyone everyone who reviewed - there were so many and I was so excited!

* * *

Chapter 8

Toushirou slowly stood up from the rock he had been sitting on and brought Hyourinmaru up to rest on his shoulder. It was completely dark and he couldn't see a thing. He had thought long and hard over the problem of the arrancar and had been unable to come up with a solution. If the arrancar had indeed come from the future and were after him, they would probably know where he was by now so it was too late to do anything anyway. If they came than they came, and if that did happen he would just have to cut them down. He was strong enough to defeat any arrancar without breaking a sweat, but what really worried him was if General Potter was here as well than he wouldn't be anywhere near strong enough to defeat him – not without his trusted Zanpaktou.

He glanced briefly at the empty sword on his shoulder. It was for all intents and purposes Hyourinmaru, just without the reiatsu, the thing that he needed the most.

He went to jump into a shunpo when he felt a strange sensation in his chest. Looking down he saw that there was nothing wrong, but the strange feeling that was now flooding his entire upper-body felt familiar. Toushirou's eyes widened as he finally recognised the feeling that he hadn't felt for almost six years – the frigid cold power of the most powerful ice Zanpaktou. The power seemed to seep into his very core and he fell to his knees by the sheer weight of it. But there was something weird about it, off, because even though the power surrounded him it didn't seem to be entirely directed at him either. After what felt like an eternity the weight lifted and he was able to breathe properly again. Slowly he rose to his feet and ran a hand shakily through his white hair.

That had been strange and overwhelming, and for a second he had thought that his closest friend was back; that he his sins had been forgiven. But apparently that was not the case, and now that he had felt that cold again, the only thing he could concentrate on was getting back. He noticed that while he had been going through whatever it was that he had went through, the sky had taken on the lighter tinge of morning. He had been out in the forest for hours and judging from the light seeping into the darkness it had to be around four to four-thirty in the morning. All of a sudden he felt bone-tired, as though all his energy had been sapped from his exhausted body. The body could only take so much stress before it needed to shut down and repair in the form of sleep. And that episode that had taken hours had left him empty inside and the only thing that now went through his mind was the need for rest.

Hitsugaya swiftly shunpo-ed across the wide expanse of Hogwarts lawns before he reached the bottom of the Gryffindor tower, and in one smooth jump, he was perched on the windowsill. Thankfully somebody had left the window open for him and he gratefully went through and, after first stashing away Hyourinmaru in the false bottom of his trunk, he slid into the confines of his sheets and let himself drift into the state of rest his mind screamed for. But, before he let sleep take him completely, he had one last thought "Going to bed this late is going to mess up my whole day" and then he was asleep.

* * *

Harry woke to sun blinding his eyelids. He rolled over with a groan and slowly opened his eyes to look at the bright, unfocused room. As he got his glasses, Roan, in a nearby bed, also was waking up. The two boys dressed in silence, both still not fully awake and fighting off lingering drowsiness. But that was what always happened in the morning, and they both knew the routine well enough to not break the silence that seemed to be an unspoken rule. But as Harry cast his gaze over the now stirring figures of Dean, Seamus and Neville, he realised that something was out of place, different in his morning routine. He couldn't quite place what though... And then he saw him – Hitsugaya Toushirou was in bed. In all the time Harry had known the strange student he had never seen him still in bed when he woke up – he always got up ridiculously early. _What if he's sick?_ Harry thought to himself slightly alarmed. _Should I wake him up?_ But he knew the answer. The boy looked way too peaceful, and he would only feel bad about waking him, so he might as well just let him sleep.

With that in mind he followed Ron and the other boys out of the dormitory to go to breakfast, leaving Toushirou behind.

Hermione was coming out of her dormitory at the same time as the boys, but she must not have seen them because she kept walking out of the Common Room, not even pausing for them. In fact, she didn't even wait outside the door for them like she usually did. _Weird..._ Ron didn't seem to notice though as he plodded forward beside him, still looking half-asleep. When they reached the Hall the boys made a beeline for a small group of people that consisted of Fred, George, Ginny and Hermione. Two seats had been saved for them and as they sat down the three Weasley's gave them cheery "Good Morning"s, but Hermione didn't even look at Harry, as though avoiding his eyes. The mood was decidedly awkward but he didn't know why – had he done something wrong? He couldn't remember doing anything, but Hermione could be a bit strange with her moods. The rest of the morning went kept up the same atmosphere and it was definitely not his imagination, but Hermione was avoiding him, she wouldn't even sit next to him.

And if the morning couldn't get any weirder Toushirou didn't show up for any of the morning classes. Was there something in the air that was making people act differently to how they normally act? The only person who seemed unaffected by Hermione's attitude and Toushirou's disappearance was Ron – in fact he seemed happier today.

It wasn't until Transfiguration straight after lunch that Toushirou made his first appearance of the day. Everyone was just walking into the classroom and he casually slid in with the rest of the students and slipped into a seat at the back of the classroom. He had to admit he was a little surprised, if not grateful, that his presence went unnoticed. Hitsugaya couldn't believe how long he had slept after he had fallen asleep in the morning, and because of his extended sleeping he had missed all of the mornings' lessons and lunch – a fact his stomach told emphatically. Even now after sleeping for an unnaturally long period of time he still felt a little light headed and fatigued which wasn't a good sign.

He shook his head a little as though to clear it and focused his attention on Professor McGonagall who had just entered the classroom. The lesson for that day would be the application of their theory work from the previous lesson which included transfiguring paper into all sorts of animals. Birds flew overhead and a rat scampered along the floor, and there was even a half formed swan floating lopsided in the air. As the lesson progressed Hitsugaya's mind slowly became more alert and he was able to concentrate better. It would seem that whatever had affected him earlier in the Forbidden Forest was finally wearing off. He was just transfiguring what felt like the millionth piece of paper when Harry came over and fell into the empty chair beside him.

"So where were you this morning Toushirou? You missed potions and Snape missed you. It's strange; you're like his favourite student even though you're in Gryffindor." Hitsugaya gave him a weird look; Harry was even worse at reading people than he had thought. The only response he gave was a non-committed grunt.

"Were you not feeling well this morning because you were still asleep when I woke up, which is really odd."

"I feel fine; I just had a late night." Harry nodded his head to show that he accepted the answer.

"Well, you didn't miss much, just some homework. Though the weirdest thing is happening with Hermione though," Hitsugaya looked up at Harry, silently telling him to continue. "It's like she's trying to avoid me so I was thinking that maybe I did something wrong, but I don't remember anything that I could have done to upset her. Do you have any ideas?"

"No, but are you sure you're reading her body language correctly, maybe she isn't avoiding you at all. I wouldn't worry about it. And if there is something bothering her, she'll talk to you when she's ready." Harry smiled.

"Thanks Toushirou, you're right, I'll just let her get over it. Well, c'ya!" And with that Harry stood up and walked back over to his chair and sat down. Toushirou watched him as he left and then watched his interactions with his friends. He narrowed his eyes slightly as Hermione refused to make eye contact with the scarred boy, instead talking to other female members of Gryffindor. Something was definitely up, but everything was fine with Harry, and it didn't involve him, so he would just leave her be for now.

The rest of the day past quickly and soon it was dinner time. Hitsugaya sat at the Gryffindor table to eat instead of going outside, and as he ate he reflected on his half day. Nobody had commented, but he was pretty sure a lot of people had noticed his absence and then his non-absence. Also, it wasn't just Harry Hermione was avoiding; it was him as well, which puzzled him. There was no logical reason for her behaviour that he could think of, so it must be illogical, and they were always the hardest ones to figure out. _Well, whether she wants to talk to me or not, it is her choice, and I couldn't care less_, he thought as he looked along the table to were the Golden Trio sat, surrounded by other friends, but in his mind he knew that he did care on some level._ How irritating_.

Up the table Hermione was silently picking at the food on her plate. Ginny was talking to her about something that had happened to her in one of her classes that day, and the twins were telling Harry and Ron about some of their more successful attempts to lure in a customer for their shady products. But it was all a blur around her; she wanted to be a part of it but she knew that she wouldn't be able to be a part of it until she confronted Toushirou over what she had seen last night. Had it all just been some demented, messed-up dream? No, the ice plain with the dragon, as unreal as it may sound, had actually happened. But were those really the images of what the future could be like – what the future has already been like?

Her gaze slid across to Harry, one of her best friends. She's known him for almost five years now, and while they had gotten off to a rocky start they were now extremely close, and she would like to believe that she knew what the boy was capable of, to be able to say emphatically that it was impossible that he could become a mindless killing machine – a monster. If somebody had asked two days ago if she believed he could be one she would say no and then call them stupid for even asking such a ridiculous question. But now... now she wasn't so sure and that was what made her feel sad. And because of that she had found she was unable to even look at him as the images that she had seen would play in her minds' eye.

She knew that she needed to talk to Toushirou as soon as possible, before she went insane, but he was another person she couldn't look at. Every time she saw him the same sort of thing occurred, but worse. Hermione had never met someone with a past so incredibly tragic and every time she looked at him she would be reminded of it; every time she saw him she would see the weight of that sadness pushing down on him, aging his face beyond his years; every time she looked into those dark pools of aqua she would feel as though she was drowning in sorrow, being crushed by despair and hopelessness – she was actually a bit surprised that nobody else could see it, now that she looked close enough. But at the same time as all this she could see the brave, unwavering commitment and she would feel unworthy to be near him. For someone to have suffered so much and yet still have the strength to move forward... it was amazing, and that was why, being a coward, she had yet to confront him. _Would he be mad that I know? He's such a private person; I would think that he would be upset at least. Maybe he will hate me for prying into his life; into a past that he wants to erase. Would it be better if I don't speak to him at all?_

"Earth to Hermione! Hello!" Hermione's head snapped up sharply as Ginny waved a hand in front of her eyes.

"You zoned out there; were you even listening to me?" Hermione looked at the red head girl who looked slightly annoyed. She decided then and there that she wouldn't talk to Toushirou about it just yet, but she had made a promise to the ice dragon and to herself, so she would talk to him about it – just not yet.

"Sorry, Gin. Can you start again?" All she got was a 'Hmph' before the story was restarted.

* * *

The next few days past by and Hermione had tried to make things as natural as she could between her and Harry, though she still couldn't bring herself to act normal around the cold, short Gryffindor. Harry was walking up to the Common Room by himself as his friends had left him behind to just walk around and clear his thoughts up. He hadn't told anyone but his scar had been slightly painful recently, with the pain sometimes flaring to a greater pain that left him with a splitting headache. He unconsciously rubbed at his scar as he walked.

_Harry_

Harry stopped walking immediately. It had been weeks since the mysterious voice had spoken to him and he had thought that it had decided to leave him alone, but apparently that wasn't the case. He stood as still as a statue, but when it became obvious that the voice wasn't going to say anymore he started walking again, only this time a bit more slowly.

_You've been upset Harry. Have you made up your mind yet? I've seen what has been happening in your life – it must be hard for your 'friend' to be so distant from you. Hermione is pulling away from you, just like I said would happen._

Harry had again stopped to listen, his breathing heavier.

"Who are you? What do you want with me?" His words rebounded off the walls in the empty corridor.

_Who am I? You should know Harry – I'm you. I'm that small part of you that holds all your doubts and suppressed feelings. I've always been with you, right from the start. When you've felt angry or sad, I've been the one to hide away those feelings to save you from the hurt. I know you're going to ask next 'But why now? Why are you talking to me now?' And the answer to that Harry is that a lot of things are going down. People aren't who they seem to be – which I'm sure you have already started to notice – and things are changing. You need to embrace me, embrace this part of yourself. Together we will get through this rough time, and with me the hurt of when your friends eventually leave you will be lessened. Embrace me Harry, let me make you whole again by combining all the parts of your mind so that you can stop being so confused. Let me help you_

Harry was speechless. The only thing he could think of was _I'm crazy, I'm talking to myself._ But he knew that the voice was telling the truth, because how else would it have known about Hermione and his ever present doubts about certain people. And if it was right and it really was a part of him than the only logical thing to do would be to accept it and make himself whole. He was just about to accept it when he felt the hairs on the back of his neck rise up – he was being watched. He turned around to look for his mysterious observer, but no matter where he looked, he couldn't see anyone. _I'm getting so paranoid._

"If you are who you say you are – which is me – than I guess the only thing to do would be to accept your offer. I want you to make me whole; to help me." Harry slid his eyes closed and power swirled around him, though he didn't notice. It seemed to seep into his very being, and Toushirou, who was in the Gryffindor Tower, was unable to feel a thing due to a cleverly placed reiatsu shield, making him oblivious to what was happening.

In the shadows, Harry's silent observer smirked to themselves – the boy had acted as expected.

"How predictable, the gullible fool," and with that the figure turned around with their cloak swishing out behind them as they walked away from the scarred boy, who had just slowly opened his eyes and was looking slightly dazed.

Harry looked around himself, wondering how he had gotten to the hallway he was now in – the last thing he remembered was leaving dinner to go for a walk, so how had he ended up here. Without pondering on it he hastily ran to the Gryffindor Common Room before he was seen by Filch and skinned alive.

* * *

In the morning Hitsugaya's routine went back to normal. He woke up at – according to Harry and Ron – and ungodly hour of the morning to train before getting some breakfast. But throughout the morning he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. But he hadn't felt any change in reiatsu so everything had to be fine. Maybe all this time-off and tension had made him paranoid. It wasn't until he saw Harry, Ron and Hermione that he knew that his paranoid thoughts weren't that at all – something was wrong. He narrowed his eyes in a frown as he studied Harry, the object of his observations since he had arrived at Hogwarts. He had completely mapped the boy's reiatsu patterns and knew them like the back of his hand – inside and out.

But now they had changed; they were different. The difference was only slight and usually not a cause for concern at all, but if Hitsugaya was anything it was overly-cautious and suspicious. The change in Harry's reiatsu plus his feelings all morning sent of little red flags in his mind. The three of them sat down at the table and were talking like the friends they were – though he had noted that Hermione was still distant from Harry.

Harry felt the aqua eyes boring into his head and turned to look at Toushirou, and when their eyes met Harry's blood ran cold. He had always hated Toushirou's eyes because he felt as though they could pierce straight through his soul and uncover all his secrets and thoughts that he wanted to keep hidden from the world. However, as he looked into them now, he still got that feeling but now the eyes had developed an icy quality, as though they had been chiselled from an ice cube. They were hard and cold, and just looking into them Harry felt as though the smaller boy wouldn't hesitate to hurt him – perhaps even to kill him. They were calculating as well, as though trying to determine what Harry would do next and it made him squirm uncomfortably. He had felt that the two of them had developed a sort of bond of friendship, even if it was slightly tenuous at times, but that was gone now.

All the doubts that he had had about Toushirou came crashing down on him and he was unable to stop them. He had always thought that the boy was strange, and that there was something not quite right about him. What if he had been right? What did he want with him? Harry broke the eye contact and tried to concentrate on what his friends were saying, though it was hard because he could still feel those eyes burning holes in him, but he ignored them as best he could.

Hitsugaya tore his eyes away from Harry as he mulled over his thoughts. He had seen fear in the boy's eyes as they looked at each other and Toushirou knew that he was the cause of it. He hadn't tried to be intimidating or cold, but that was the way it had come across and he knew it. But one thing had been proved, Harry was different this morning. He had felt his reiatsu spike when he thought he looked at Hitsugaya, more than it would normally have done. Was Harry's reiatsu deliberately being amplified? But that didn't make sense – to what end would somebody have to amplify Harry's reiatsu? And then it hit him. If he was right than that would mean a lot more trouble for him and if he couldn't find a way to fix it then he would just have to kill Harry before anything bad happened. He rose out of his seat as the bell rang and went to follow the other students out the door when he felt it – the reiatsu that would probably answer his questions.

He pushed through the mob of students and ran to the stairs, taking them two at a time. He needed to reach the Common Room as quickly as he could, and he would need to skip some lessons – how many he wouldn't know. It would be harder to carry Hyourinmaru during the day due to all the students everywhere, and if he was caught it would pose a lot of awkward questions that he had no answers to. He was almost there when he felt the reiatsu disappear – he was too late.

"Damn!" He cried it out to the hall that was deserted because most students would by now be in their classes. He had missed a valuable opportunity because he hadn't wanted to be unarmed. But then he felt multiple reiatsu of hollows in the same general area and continued to move swiftly. He may not be able to speak to who he wanted to, but he would still need to engage in a battle. When he go to the portrait of the Fat Lady he felt multiple reiatsus behind the door – probably year seven students who have a free period. He uttered the password and pushed the door open and was instantly assaulted by the two people who he wanted to see least at the moment – or at any other given period of time.

"Hey Toushirou, what are you doing out of class, hm? Maybe you want to buy some Fainting Fancies."

"Or Puking Pastilles."

"Or maybe you want a Fever Fudge."

"Unless you want to buy a Nose-blood Nougat. What do you say?"

The two Weasley twins looked at him with their best selling smiles, but it had no effect on him. He needed to get out of there quickly to deal with the hollows which could be potentially dangerous for the wizards.

"No thank you, I don't want, and I will never want, any of your questionable products. Now if you will excuse me I need to retrieve a book that I forgot to pick up and get back to class before I'm any later than I already am." He smoothly brushed off the twins and hurried to stairs and ascended up them, only to be extremely annoyed when the two boys followed him. It had become quite obvious to him over the weeks that the Weasley twins didn't know the concept of 'no' and it would seem that they would keep hassling him until he bought something from them. But he knew that if you gave in and fed the hungry dog it would always keep coming back and be even more determined than it was originally.

To keep up appearances Toushirou grabbed a random book from the top of his trunk and left the room, making sure to keep the door open when he left. The twins continued to follow him and try to sell him their products.

"You know, if you bought a Nose-blood Nougat, than you would have a legitimate excuse for being late to class."

"Yeah, teachers really hate the 'I was late because I forgot my book and needed to go get it' excuse; it's really old."

Toushirou ignored them and exited the portrait. He was painfully aware of the ever growing amount of hollows in the Forbidden Forest and he knew that he would need to time his next move just right. As the door swung shut he appeared to the twins to be walking away. Knowing when a customer has gotten away the twins, too, walked away from the portrait – which was exactly what Toushirou had been counting on. When the door was almost completely shut he turned on his heel and shunpo-ed as fast as he could back through and up the stairs into the Dormitory.

"Hey Fed, did you just feel that wind? Maybe somebody left a window open in one of the dorms, we should go and close it before it freezes the entire Common Room. The two stood up and went to walk up the stairs.

Toushirou swore quietly under his breath as he heard the twins decide to investigate the Dormitories for a window that wasn't open. That meant he wouldn't have any time to get changed, so he would need to fight the hollows in his uniform. He hastily threw open his trunk and chucked everything onto his bed to reach the false bottom. The twins were on the stairs now and they reached the first dormitory room just as he reached in a grabbed his sword. He flung all his belongings back into the trunk and was about to leave when he felt something poking into his side. Without waiting to see what it was he pulled it out of his pocket, threw onto his bed and opened the window beside his bed.

Beneath him he could see students milling about on the lawns and knew that he couldn't be seen jumping from a window at the top of the Gryffindor Tower. But he had no time to think of how to jump stealthily because the twins had reached the steps before his dormitory room, as soon as they turned the corner he would be in full view. So without further ado, he jumped from the window and landed gracefully on the ground before immediately snapping into a roll and rolling out of sight. Nobody had seen him. _Damn that was stressful._

Fred and George reached the room that Toushirou had just left and they saw the open window.

"Here we go Fred; this window's the one that has been cooling down the room. George strode over to the window and pulled it shut. He was just pulling away from the window when something on the bed next to the window caught his eye. He slowly bent down and picked up the most exquisite wand he had ever seen. It was a light brown colour, but the handle was a soft, powdery ice blue that seemed to extend delicate tendrils along the wand, some almost reaching the end, others not even stretching too far passed the handle. It seemed so delicate and he was captivated by its beauty. He had seen many wands in his time at Hogwarts, and even before Hogwarts, but never had he seen anything quite like this wand. And he could feel the power humming beneath the surface, giving the surface of the wand a cool feeling, making it slightly cold to the touch. Fred had joined him by the bed and he too was looking at the wand in awe.

"George, whose is this? It's... amazing."

"I don't know, but can you feel that power? Whoever this belongs, I would not want to get on the bad side of them, that's for sure."

Meanwhile, Toushirou was shunpo-ing around students, going too fast for the untrained eye, making him invisible to everyone. He entered the forest without slowing down and soon he burst into the area to find it crawling with all types of hollows. He unsheathed Hyourinmaru and threw the sheath on the ground – he had had no time to secure it to his back. He charged at the first hollow before his presence was even noticed, but as soon as the first hollow was dead all the others turned towards him and attacked.

He fought hard because even though they were weak, they had power in numbers, but he had fought way more than this and he slowly gained the upper hand as he skilfully manoeuvred his blade to slay hollow after hollow. The unearthly screams of the dying enemy shattered the silence of the forest and Hitsugaya felt for sure that somebody would hear it and would come to investigate, but nobody came. He couldn't spare another thought on the matter, however, because the numbers of hollows kept increasing, and he was slowly being forced backwards. He wasn't near exhaustion, thanks to all his stamina building exercises during the war, but he knew that he needed to end this as quickly as he could before he was forced back out of the forest and onto the school grounds, where his fight would be in plain sight. He grunted with the effort of cutting through the tough skin of a slightly more powerful hollow, ripping his blade clean through to separate it into two perfect halves.

* * *

After what was seemed like hours the clearing was empty and a deathly silence hung in the air. Hitsugaya stood among debris of fallen branches and bits of hollows before they disintegrated, blowing away in the slight wind. His breathing was harder than it normally was, but not too much more. His arms felt heavy as he held his sword in both hands, his arms straining slightly. He was still human after all and so was not immune to the effects of fighting for long periods of time, and he must have been fighting the small-fry hollows for almost three hours. If that was the case than everybody should be in their third class of the day, which for him would be Care of Magical Creatures. It would be too late to join the lesson now, and besides he needed to change and stash away Hyourinmaru as well. He would go to fourth, which would happen after a small recess so he had plenty of time to change and probably have a shower too.

He walked over and bent down to pick up his sheath when he felt a new reiatsu enter the clearing. Hitsugaya's eyes widened as he felt the pressure push him down – he wasn't ready for this! Not yet when he hadn't re-established ties with his Zanpaktou yet. He was down on his knees and he turned around slowly to see who this mysterious new arrival was. What he saw shocked him to no end. The person was clad in the white uniform of an arrancar, and looking at him Hitsugaya had no doubt that this person was also from the future – just as the arrancar from the previous night had been. A deadly looking sword was bared as it was drawn from a plain looking sheath of red and gold and the owner took up a battle stance. Hitsugaya had never encountered this arrancar in all the time the war had been on, but if he had he would have been better prepared for what he saw – and he would be lying to himself if he said that it was a huge surprise. Standing before him with a deadly sneer set in place, flaming hair covering cruel blue eyes was none other than Ronald Weasley.

"So, I finally get to meet the infamous Hitsugaya Toushirou, Captain of a dead race. I have to say I've never seen anything so pathetic in my entire life, and let me tell you, I know pathetic." Hitsugaya slowly rose to his feet, abandoning his sheath on the ground as he brought Hyourinmaru to face the front towards Ron.

"Ronald Weasley, I heard so much about you from one of your closes friends Hermione Granger, and can I say that what she told me would not have prepared me for this. From what I heard you were almost the embodiment of all that is good and just, but thankfully I met your younger self, which prepared me slightly for this meeting, because I realised that everything Hermione told me were lies that you fed her." Ron's face contorted into an ugly glare as he looked at the shorter Shinigami with disgust.

"Don't you talk about her you scum; how she ended up with the likes of you I will never understand. It must have been some kind of joke to put her on the wrong side of the war; as though fate was having one last jest saying 'figure this one out'. Together me and Harry along with Lord Aizen will rule the planet and have infinite power. I still am the embodiment of good and all that is just; I will rid the Earth of the scum that deem themselves akin to gods. Who gave you the right to control the death of innocent souls, to kill whenever you want and when it suits you. Shinigami are the enemies of all wizards and those who can't see that are blind. I must admit that I was sad to learn that people like Dumbledore couldn't see the truth, but it can't be helped – there are always going to be unreasonable people in this world."

"You're wrong about Shinigami, they help the souls cross over to Soul Society and protect them from being devoured by Hollows, that is our job and we are damn good at it. Aizen is a traitor to Soul Society and all who follow him must be destroyed before they bring any more havoc to this broken world than they already have. But before I kill you Ron Weasley I have one question I want to ask, why do you hate Shinigami so much? I heard you talk about how you think that we think we're gods, but I can hear the pure hatred in your tone and you have never struck me as being an overly religious man, so what is it?" Ron glared a glare that would have frozen a normal person in place, but Hitsugaya was not a normal person – you can't freeze what is already frozen. Ron was quiet for so long that he didn't think the arrancar would answer his question. So it came as a bit of a surprise when Ron spoke again in a low, dangerous tone.

"Because, the Shinigami killed me and my family for no reason at all. That is why you must die!" And with that the enraged man ran forward, his sword ready to kill. Hitsugaya only had barely enough time to throw himself into a roll before his head was cut off. His muscles screamed their protests at him as he ran to put some distance between him and his attacker. Once he had a good amount of distance he turned around and jumped into a shunpo to appear behind Ron. But his move had been anticipated and the metallic ring of metal on metal rang through the area. Pushing off from the sword Hitsugaya flipped backwards. He knew that he would never be able to beat Ron in his current state because judging from the reiatsu levels Ron was at an Espada level of strength.

Ron rushed forward again, this time pulling out just before he reached the boy, slicing his sword to the right of him as he changed directions to try and cut Toushirou who had just shunpo-ed to Ron's right. Toushirou may not be able to beat him in strength, but he had the upper hand when it came to speed and so was able to skilfully dodge all attacks against him. He parried a blow to his left side and jumped up to land smoothly behind Ron and followed through with his blade pointing between the shoulder blades. Ron managed to twist around in time to block the attack, but not before Toushirou nicked the skin on his shoulder.

The deadly sword dance continued as both tried to land a hit on the other. They were in a stalemate of sorts as Ron couldn't catch Toushirou for long enough to hurt him, and Toushirou couldn't attack Ron head on as Ron had the superior strength. They each had very minor scratches in various places, but nothing worth noting considering they didn't even bleed that much. Toushirou had just pushed off a tree and flew at Ron as Ron brought up his blade to once again block and he counter-attacked with a deadly strike to the side, but it never made it. Ron smirked satisfied. However, Hitsugaya could feel himself losing the strength in his limbs as his tired muscles struggled to keep pace. He didn't know how long he could keep pushing his body to its limit before it just gave out, but he knew that if that happened he would be as good as dead and that was not acceptable! Images of people he knew, that he had sworn to protect only to watch them die flashed through is mind.

Ichigo, Rukia, Hermione, his trusted squad, all the captains of the Gotei 13 and their squads, Matsumoto, Hinamori; he had to win this fight to undo his wrongs and protect them. Even if he had to continue until his last breath, he. Would. Protect. Them! With this flashing through his mind adrenaline pumped through his veins, adding strength to his tired body, all sense of time forgotten, all weariness forgotten, Toushirou was invigorated as strength coursed through him, lighting his blood on fire – a frozen, cold, burning fire. It showed in his eyes as they snapped with determination as he once more lifter Hyourinmaru up to face the arrancar, the person that Hermione had talked so highly of, the boy who – for all his faults – was kind and caring. He didn't spare a thought for how this would affect his body as his body and mind merged to be one. He didn't spare a thought to how ice seemed to trail over his skin, cooling it down as it covered him in long tendrils. He didn't spare a single thought as he raised his sword in said in a deadly calm voice that slowly raised in volume.

"Sit upon the frozen Heavens, Hyourinmaru!" The head of a magnificent ice dragon burst out of the tip of the sword as all arguments between Zanpaktou and wielder were forgotten as the two merged to once more be unified as one. The large barriers that had been set up so long ago crumbled and the blue sky turned grey and then black as massive storm clouds gathered before dumping their load on the grounds below. The storm raged, reflecting all the pent up emotions that Hitsugaya had been forced to bury for so long at the bottom of his heart. His aqua eyes had also changed from a light colour to a dark, storm-ridden turquoise and Ron Weasley sensed the danger he was in. He had heard that this child was one of the most powerful Shinigami they also said that his power was probably on the same level as Lord Aizen. But it was also common knowledge that he no longer communicated with his Zanpaktou and that had weakened him, and because if this, the arrogant arrancar had underestimated his opponent. He had underestimated the lengths the boy would go to so that everything would be fixed, and now, because of his foolishness he would probably die a very cold death at the merciless hands of this powerful embodiment of ice.

Toushirou directed the massive dragon to come crushing down on the arrancar and all Ron was able to do was hold his sword up to block. His feet were pushed back a few meters and the earth was gouged where his feet had dug in. The attacks were relentless and they kept coming, and each time they came Ron felt his defence slip a little bit more until he was on his back and completely at the mercy of his foe. Hitsugaya raised Hyourinmaru once more, preparing for the final attack.

In his mind's eye he could only see one face, the one face that he had sworn to protect from everything and had failed on so many occasions. He had let her down badly when she most needed him and he had failed to save her, both from herself and from an evil man. He had loved her as a sister and as a best friend, and possibly something more as well, but he would never know. When he had died he had been distraught and had rebounded on a person that held a similar likeness in both looks and attitude – Hermione Granger. But it was that one person that had seen him through so many times, both good and bad; who was the one to help and comfort him even when he told both her and himself that he didn't need any comfort, that he was stronger than that. But he had failed her, and now as he looked at Ron, it was her face he saw, the face of his best friend in the whole world Hinamori Momo.

He was unaware of the silent tears that trailed down his face as more power exploded from his destroyed heart. Hyourinmaru was eager and ready to finish the battle and as Toushirou raised him up time slowed down. The sword was positioned above his head, the dragon's head rearing up powerfully and proud. He slowly brought the blade sweeping down in a swift motion, without any hesitance, the dragon gliding down after it. Ice and Earth met in a shower of shards that were like deadly projectiles that shot off in every direction. He felt some sink into his own skin, some quite deep, but he was desensitised to it, and even if he wasn't he felt that it was a fitting punishment for what he had put Hyourinmaru through.

The frozen ground glistened as the rain beat down scattering the light around. Hyourinmaru slowly disappeared and time returned to normal. It had seemed so surreal, but now as he stood in the air with the rain pounding on him, drenching him he knew that things would steadily get worse from here. The adrenal gradually left his veins as the fire dyed down and he was slowly falling, like an angel from grace. He landed on the ground with a sound thud and a couple of loud crunches and he cast his dull eyes to where Ron had lain. He no longer was there as his body had already disappeared into the howling wind. Blood mixed with water and tears as it was washed away. He looked down at his abdomen and his mind saw the large patch of blood staining his soiled school shirt. There was blood everywhere else from the ice shards, but this injury seemed different. And then his hazy mind remembered.

_Toushirou had just pushed off a tree and flew at Ron as Ron brought up his blade to once again block and he counter-attacked with a deadly strike to the side, but it never made it. Ron smirked satisfied._

It would seem that the blade had sunk into his flesh – in the left side of his stomach – but he was too lost in the moment for his brain to have made the connection that he was hurt. The blood flowed freely and his raw power flared around himself as his heart cried out in pain – not the physical pain but the emotional one. He had come so far, and he had so far to go; he couldn't die here, on the muddy ice and drenched in the freezing rain. But try as he might he couldn't will his lead-heavy muscles to move an inch and slowly his vision blackened and blurred and the last thing he saw was the dark, clouded sky with the rain falling from the heavens as though crying the tears that he had been unable to for all these years and then he knew no more as he slipped into blissful unconsciousness.

* * *

**Earlier that day with Fred and George**

"George, whose is this? It's... amazing."

"I don't know, but can you feel that power? Whoever this belongs, I would not want to get on the bad side of them, that's for sure." Fred walked over to the trunk at the foot of the bed and opened it.

"Fred, what are you doing? You can't go through other peoples' things!" George exclaimed to his twin in surprise.

"Relax, I'm just seeing who the wand belongs to, because I'm pretty sure they'll need it during class, and because I'm bored out of my mind I think we should go for a walk and return it to them.' George sighed at his brother's remark but nodded in agreement, albeit a little reluctantly.

"Ok... This wand belongs to... Toushirou." The twins looked at each other.

"He's being a bit forgetful today isn't he; I mean first his book and now his wand. Well, do you know what class he has right now?" Fred nodded his head.

"He's in Ron's class and I know for a fact that Ron has transfiguration first with McGonagall because he was complaining about some kind of hard spell that they had to do today. If you ask me though, I would just say that he was complaining for the sake of complaining."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Well, let's get going. Oh, maybe we'll see someone in need of a little something to get out of class, so bring the Skiving Snackboxes with you." Fred ran into his own room and grabbed his and his twins special 'merchandise bag' which had all the things available to sell in it.

"I'm all set, let's go."

The two walked along the halls without meeting up with anyone, probably because everyone was in class. It was a bit disappointing, but there would be plenty of time to sell things. They had already made so much money already and they practically taste their dream of owning a joke shop – it was that close to becoming a reality. They talked and joked as they walked down the halls, occasionally passing a random teacher who immediately kept walking as soon as they saw the twin terrors as the staff had nick-named them. When they got to the doors to McGonagall's class Fred knocked and George opened the door as soon as they heard a 'come in' from inside the classroom. McGonagall looked at them and they could almost see her visibly sigh as though to say 'what now?'

"Yes boys, can I help you?" Fred stepped forward.

"No, we just came to give Toushirou his wand back, he accidently left it in the Gryffindor Tower, and we figured he would need it."

"Well that was very considerate of you boys – and I must say I am surprised – but Toushirou isn't in class as you can see. He must have come down with something and had to see Madame Pomfrey." Fred frowned at this and George looked confused.

"That can't be right Professor; we were just talking to him only five minutes ago because he had left his book up in the dormitory and so needed to go get it for class. He was fine."

"Are you trying to tell me that Toushirou is skipping class?" She placed her hands on her hips as she waited for an answer.

"How would we know, we only came to return his wand." Hermione saw that this was getting nowhere and put her hand up.

"Miss Granger?"

"I could take his wand for you Professor and just give it to him when I next see him if you want."

"That would be great; Mr Weasley please hand Miss Granger the wand if you would, and I suggest the two of you go do something constructive for the rest of your free period." The twins both agreed and then left the room after placing the amazing wand in Hermione's hand.

The lesson continued as normal, but the class was restless. Where was the strange transfer student? Everybody knew that he probably didn't need to attend class because he had probably already learnt everything he needed to know – he was just that smart! – but he always attended class no matter what. First period, and then second period, flew by quickly and still, Toushirou didn't show up. After the second period ended Hermione, Harry and a reluctant Ron headed over to the infirmary to see how the boy was doing and whether he was really sick or not, before heading down to Care of Magical Creatures. When they reached the Hospital Wing they couldn't find any occupied beds. Madame Pomfrey saw them and immediately came over.

"Is there something wrong? Are any of you feeling ill?" She cast an eye over Harry, her most frequent patient, as though expecting him to just fall down hurt. Hermione shook her head.

"No. None of us are sick. We were just wondering if Toushirou has been to see you this morning."

"No, I'm sorry dear, but I haven't seen that boy at all today, except at breakfast, for which I'm glad. He didn't look too well yesterday and I heard that he missed the first half of the day, but when I saw him this morning at breakfast he was fine; there was nothing wrong with him. Why do you ask about him?" Hermione was disappointed at the news and looked down at the floor. _If he hasn't been to Madame Pomfrey, and he hasn't been in class, and he hasn't been in Gryffindor Tower, then where has he been? Where are you Toushirou?_

"We haven't seen him today; he wasn't in Transfiguration or Divination, so we were just wondering if maybe he was sick and had come to visit you," Harry answered to Madame Pomfrey's question.

"Though it is a bit weird, I mean if he hasn't been here, or in class, or in Gryffindor Tower then where has he been? Students don't just go missing you know?" Hermione looked at her friend – it was crazy how it was like he could read her mind at times. _I guess great minds think alike._

"Well, I'm sorry dears. You three should get to class now; I'm sure he's just taking a walk. You know how he sometimes likes his space." Hermione still looked worried, but Ron and Harry bid Madame Pomfrey a good day and took their friend and started heading to class. As soon as they were gone Madame Pomfrey left the Hospital Wing and went straight to a statue of a stone gargoyle. After uttering a random and completely strange password that was set by Professor Dumbledore, the gargoyle sprang to life and moved aside. She slowly walked up the moving stairs until she reached the big oak doors, where she smartly rapped her knuckles on the hard wood.

"Enter."

She pushed open the door and strode inside. Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk as he peered at her through his half-moon spectacles with kind, blue eyes.

"Yes Poppy, is there something I can help you with?"

"There is. It would seem that one of the students has gone missing; nobody has seen him at all today, except maybe at breakfast. Apparently he hasn't been in any classes and he hasn't been in the Gryffindor Tower or to see me. The last two people who had any contact with him were Fred and George Weasley, and they said that he was fine, just retrieving a forgotten book so he wouldn't be late to class." Dumbledore contemplated the news that he just received. He had a good idea who she might be talking about, but he had to make sure.

"And who might this student be?"

"Hitsugaya Toushirou." He nodded his head – it had been who he thought it was going to be. They talked for a little longer before Madame Pomfrey left the office. She was to go to Professor McGonagall and a small search party would be established consisting of Professor Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey.

"It would seem that you are quite the troublesome student Mr Hitsugaya." Dumbledore's gaze floated over the various objects in his room before pushing himself up out of his chair and leaving the room to look for Hitsugaya Toushirou.

Care of Magical Creatures class was right beside the Forbidden Forest, and as soon as the three late students arrived Hermione could feel something different in the air, but she couldn't figure out what it was. Harry told Professor Grubbly-Plank that the three of them had just been to see Madame Pomfrey in the Hospital Wing and the Professor just continued the lesson as though there had been no interruption. It wasn't until nearer to the end of the lesson that something strange started to happen.

The temperature had been dropping slowly over the course of the lesson, but near the end of the lesson there was a sudden dip in temperature, causing peoples' breath to become mist as soon as it left the mouth. Hermione started to shiver and wrapped her arms around her body to try and stay warm, but it seemed to be impossible. Also the strange feeling in the air had intensified, and it was then that she realised that it was almost... electric. It was as though electricity was flowing freely in the air, swirling around them and bringing the cold closer. By now all the students were shivering and complaining about the cold, but Professor Grubbly-Plank ignored them. When the storm clouds started to drift overhead causing the sky to darken to an ominous black colour Grubbly-Plank decided that it would be best if they packed up before the storm started. But it was too late. There had been plenty of warning signs, but the Professor had ignored them, and now it was too late.

The rain poured down immediately drenching everyone, making them all chilled to the bone. Harry looked up to the sky with his hair plastered to his face just in time to see a lightning bolt crack blindingly bright across the sky. The wind whipped about, tearing at exposed skin and hair.

It was a mad dash to the castle as the students just grabbed their things and ran – but not Hermione. Harry and Ron had run a little way away before they noticed that she wasn't with them.

"Hermione! What are you doing, we need to hurry before this gets any worse!" Ron's words were snatched up by the wind so that they sounded faint when they reached the girl's ears. But she couldn't go to the castle because she had recognised this feeling. She had never personally experienced it, but she had plenty of times when she had been going through Toushirou's memories. This electricity in the air that she felt wasn't electricity at all – it was reiatsu. Toushirou's reiatsu to be exact. She glanced up at her soaked friends before turning on her heel and disappearing into the forest behind her, following the reiatsu as best she could. The boys screamed at her to stop but she was too far to hear them, and even if she wasn't she wouldn't have stopped. Harry tore off back down the muddy grass to follow his stupid friend and Ron followed him. The wind was almost painful; even more so considering the extremely low temperature that had turned Ron's fingers a nasty shade of blue.

Hermione ran, heedless of the branches and twigs that scratched at her arms and face; that caught in her hair. The more she ran the colder it seemed to get until she burst into a clearing where it was well below 0 Degrees and the entire place was filled with ice that was stained with mud and blood. Her face was full of horror as her eyes scanned the area. They strained to stare at the glaring ice that glistened with the heavy rain and then she saw him. He would have been impossible to see him due to his white hair and deathly pale skin if it had not been for the blood that covered and surrounded him. She ran over and dropped to her knees as she gently felt for a pulse. She found it, but it was erratic and slow, and slowing with every second.

"No." It came out as whisper as she stared at his face.

"This can't be how it ends; it isn't your time, not yet. Please Toushirou, don't die." Harry and Ron ran through the foliage to reach the clearing and what they saw shocked them more than anything before had shocked them. But they didn't have time to gaze at the surrounding ice because it was then that they saw their friend with the missing, blood covered student. Ron was pale as he took in the amount of blood that surrounded the white haired boy, and also the amount of blood that still pumped freely from a wound that was unseen. The three stared transfixed; none of them knew what to do.

"I think the three of you should head back up to the castle with Professor McGonagall to get warm and dry. Madame Pomfrey and I will help Toushirou." The three looked up to see Professor Dumbledore standing there with Professor McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey standing behind him. It was obvious the students were in shock as they stood up without a word and followed their teacher out of the forest and away from the bloody battlefield. Madame Pomfrey immediately rushed over to help the dying boy while Dumbledore gazed at his surroundings. He had no doubt that the boy would pull through, though he might be sore for a while. But the question was what on earth happened and how was Toushirou involved in it? There were so many questions that ran through the elderly Head Master's brain as he stared at the clearing of ice, but none of them had an answer to it. The storm continued to rage overhead without any signs of stopping.

* * *

Responses to reviews:

Ribbonseal: Strange goo or strange bad? I love Hitsugaya too XD and I feel a little bad about giving him such a bad life story but I guess I can't feel that bad because I keep making it worse lol

FullmetalKeyblade 13: It makes me so happy when people say they love my story so thanks heaps. Also I didn't really know about the miso soup being an aquired taste (even though I wrote that it was) so it's good to know that it is - I was just kind of guessing. Maybe I will call Hermione, Harry and Hitsugaya the 3 H'es lol, though if you notice Harry and Hermione are their first names while Hitsugaya is his last name - though I'm sure that if I tried I could work around that problem lol. And lastly about the train boarding. I just love making things as dramatic as they could possibly be and I thought that it might be an interesting chang, so I'm glad you liked it and I hope you keep reading my story. Wow! longest review reply ever, probably because you had such a long review XD

Yukira-Kuchiki: In answer to your question it was Hermione; and don't worry I'm sure we all have days where we're just out of it - I know I have :) Hope you keep reading

Ziya Hitsugaya: It makes me happy to know that this is one of your favourite stories XD I hope your surgery went good and that you're all fine now and thanks for your concern when I didn't update for a while XD Also it turns out that I couldn't quite make my deadline of updating before the end of the 6th of March, but I was close

Lady Queria: I'm so sorry! I totally didn't mean to nudge you off the cliff! Are you okay? lol, sorry to disappoint you but unfortunately no confrontation - but I can promise you that it will 100% be in the next chapter. It seems a few people were waiting for the confrontation, so I guess I disappointed a few people huh? Oh, well. I'm still wondering how I managed to write over 10'000 words in one chapter without writing out that scene - strange.

Uncle Phil: Thanks for such a nice review I just loved reading it! Though the updating more or less regularly seems to have changed with this chapter considring it's been over a month, but I will try to keep it regular. And to answer your question, the pairing does seem to flow, but that was more of a character building thing, rather than a plot line if you know what I mean. I'm not all that good with writing romance, so I'm going to have no pairings in my story, but there may be hints of things from time to time

Flamelord99: These are the questions, but unfortunately (or not so unfortunate depending on how you look at it) you'll just have to wait and see what all the answers are to them

The Mythical Pen: Don't worry too much about any possible foreshadowing you may or may not have given away 'cause you blocked it ou so it's all good! It was pretty good blocking as well if I do say so - it took me forever to figure out what it meant lol XD And it's always good to make connections because later if they're right you can be like 'Yeah, I'm so smart, I figured it out!' or you can be like 'Wow, I totally didn't expect that, what a great idea!' so it's a win-win situation lol

Black Flash: What a really good question, and I had to think of a really good, plausible answer for this before I started writing, so all I can say is it will make complete sense, you'll just have to wait though. Hope you keep reading my story :)

Sapphire-Angel-Gem, jgood27, 4marauders, animeloveramy and deathnoteno1fan-codegeasslover: Thank you all for your really great reviews, it always just makes my day XD

* * *

And there goes another chapter. Hope everybody liked it and if you did it would be great if you sent me a little word by reviewing or pm-ing or whatever because I love to hear from you even if it is only a 'great story', but I also accept critism as well. Until next time.


	11. Chapter 9

WOW! Updated in less than a week - record! Thanks to everyone who reviewed, it's much appreciated.

* * *

Chapter 9

The room was quiet as the people worked silently, keeping to themselves so as not to disturb anyone. The only sounds came from the soft hum of the massive computers and the small 'blip' that sounded every ten seconds. It was just another normal workday for the people in the room, with nothing out of the ordinary happening.

"Ping! Ping! Ping! Ping!" The continuous ring of the computer's tracking system rebounded around the room, shattering the silence. This was definitely not normal, but it wasn't any cause for alarm. One of the workers left their station and gazed over the information scrolling down the monitor. They had gotten halfway through the information when the grand double doors opened with a loud bang. The person that strode purposefully in was feared by most of the people in the room, and most of the people outside the room as well. He was creepy and a little bit crazy, but he was smart. At the moment he had a frown set into his features as he roughly pushed the worker out of the way.

"Get back to work you fool! I doubt you would even be able to understand half of these complex words!" The worker hastily ran back to their station and quickly picked up where they had left off. The man in front of the over-sized computer read through the text quickly and stroked a few keys on the keyboard and then continued to read the new text that had come up. The woman that had followed the man in through the doors stood emotionless by his side as she too read the startling information.

"Anomaly detected in sector 142, grid 12, 600km north-east of the main sector in that area – sector 140. There have been no recorded anomalies detected in sector 142, grid 12 before." She spoke with a voice as emotionless as the rest of her.

"Do you think I'm an idiot you foolish girl? I can read it myself!" He spat out at the girl. "Now go be useful for once and inform everyone that there will be an emergency meeting!" With that he strode out of the room with the girl following behind. Everyone let out a sigh of relief as they released their breath that they hadn't even been aware they had been holding.

After fifteen minutes ten people assembled in the large meeting room in two lines with one person sitting at the very head. All assembled were worried; it had to be bad news if an emergency meeting was called. There were a few murmurings as some speculated what they thought was the problem, but they were immediately silenced as the old man banged his wooden staff loudly on the ground. They all snapped to attention and waited wearily for whatever news was to be told.

"Kurotshuchi Taicho, what has been brought to your attention that is so important that you felt the need to hold a meeting?" The undertone of authority was evident in the old voice, as though warning that this better not be a waste of time. The scientist stood forward out of the line he stood in so that all could see him.

"Earlier today my advanced tracking computers detected an anomaly in sector 142, grid 12 – or in other words an area in England. However, we have never had a problem here before, and my senses tell me that the entire area is just grassland with nothing of any significance there." He paused to take a breath and look at all the faces around him. A few of them were completely stoic as normal, though a few looked unimpressed. What could be so important about an anomaly that they would need to have a meeting about it? The scientist continued.

"Currently we have no Shinigami in the World of the Living, so that is why this caught my eye, and the more I looked at it the more impossible it seems. The anomaly that my computer detected was an extremely high output of reiatsu – more powerful than anything I've ever seen before."

"So are you saying that there is a human in England that has an abnormally large reiatsu – like Kurasaki Ichigo?" The captain that just spoke was Kyouraku.

"Well that was what I first thought, until my scanners matched the reiatsu pattern to the reiatsu pattern that is owned by a Shinigami. In fact, it was a one-hundred percent match."

"Kurotshuchi Taicho, could you please get on with it." All the captains waited to hear who the mysteriously strong Shinigami was that had caused the crazy man to bring them all together.

"This is the impossible part, because the Shinigami who belongs to this reiatsu isn't in the Living World, in fact they're here in Soul Society, in this very room to be precise." The murmuring once more started up. What was going on? And whose reiatsu was it? None of the captains felt that their power levels were so high that it would surprise the twelfth division captain, who had data on all the captains. The captain of the tenth division silently looked at the scientist who also seemed to be looking straight back at him. And being a genius he figured out who Mayuri was talking about. But he had to hear it for himself. The hall once more silenced themselves as they waited for the last piece of news.

"The Shinigami is none other than the tenth division captain, Hitsugaya Taicho." All heads turned to the boy and he frowned deeply. It wasn't possible that he was releasing reiatsu in the Living World when he was standing right here.

"I would recommend that we send a team down to England sir to investigate this anomaly." Yamamoto nodded his head in agreement.

"I agree to that sentiment. Hitsugaya Taicho, you and your lieutenant are to be ready to depart at 0800 tomorrow morning. Also, take a small squad with you in case this is a trap. Dismissed." With a ring of finality he brought his staff crashing back down so that wood met wood and everyone dispersed. Hitsugaya walked out to inform his squad of his departure and he couldn't help but wonder what he would find when he reached the World of the Living.

* * *

Pain, that was all he could feel. It encompassed his entire being, unwilling to release its hold on his battered body. It wasn't just the pain centred around the potentially lethal stab wound in his side – he's had worse before – but the overall sense of pain and weariness that came with fighting for hours on end without stopping or pausing; the mind-numbing pain of pushing your body way past its breaking point and holding it there for an excruciating amount of time. His muscles screamed their hate for him as he struggled to gain consciousness; they hated him for the abuse he put them through. It had been such a long time since he was able to operate at his full power and his body wasn't used to it anymore which is why it felt so strained now.

There had been a time when he had been at full power – not too long after he had reached a complete bankai – where he could say that he was able to fight Aizen on the same level. He could remember one battle of epic proportions that had destroyed a whole town; thankfully it had been deserted. He had taken on the mantle of most powerful Shinigami in Seireiti, but even with all his power it hadn't been enough; Aizen had won – just barely but it was still his victory. He hadn't been able to beat that traitor, but he knew that if he trained harder, got stronger, he would be able to finally win. Though fate seemed to be against him because not too long after that the... incident occurred; the one where he lost touch with his closest friend and ally, Hyourinmaru.

The hospital smells seeped into his sensitive nose and he could feel the restricting tightness of bandages around his torso – a feeling that he was sorry to say, he had become all too familiar with. His body may not have been functioning right, but his mind was going a million miles a minute. There was one thing that troubled him most and it was the fact that Ron had been so incredibly strong – definitely espada level. But that was the problem, he had thought he had known all of Aizen's top ten espada and his back-up ten espada, and Ron definitely wasn't one of them. The espada of the present day paled painfully to the power of the espada to come, yet Ron had been even stronger still. It was concerning to say the least, and the first course of action would be to get up out of bed and go look for any hollows, arrancar or even possibly espada, who had followed him here – before they found him. He had made a mistake by waiting for them to come to him; a mistake he would not make again. If only he could get his damn limbs to move!

He finally forced his eyes open and they blurred against the bright light that shone down on him.

"My, I must say that this is awfully familiar, wouldn't you agree Mr Hitsugaya?" Toushirou turned his blurry vision towards a man that sat in a chair beside the bed, looking at him intently. He blinked a few times until the picture came into focus and he realised that the man was Albus Dumbledore.

"I do believe this is exactly the same way we met – you in a hospital bed with severe injuries and me beside you. Though if I do remember correctly last time you said that your injuries had been sustained by," he paused with a hint of humour in his blue eyes, "falling down the stairs." He couldn't suppress a small chuckle at that.

"So, tell me, what ingenious excuse have you cooked up this time? Perhaps you ran into a tree? Or maybe," the merry twinkled left as the situation turned from the humour. "Maybe you were doing something that you weren't supposed to be doing; in a Forbidden area no less. Tell me Mr Hitsugaya, what were you doing that allowed you to get such a large, deep cut, hmm?" The blue eyes now pierced into him as Dumbledore attempted to work out all his secrets in one go. Like hell he was going to tell the old man anything.

"It was a very... pointy tree." Dumbledore sighed at the response; it disappointed him to no end that this particular student felt the need to constantly lie to him. He leaned in closer to the boy.

"Toushirou, I am the Headmaster of Hogwarts. Do you know what that means?" Toushirou sat up indignantly, only to fall back down again because of the pain in his side. _Is he insulting my intelligence? How dare he!_

"Of course Sir, I'm not stupid. You are responsible for making the school run smoothly and make sure every student stays safe, no matter what."

"Precisely! My responsibility – my duty – is to keep the students safe, and as part of that duty I must monitor certain... activities if you will, of creatures that could pose a threat to the way of life at Hogwarts. And if one of these creatures comes within a specified perimeter around the school I am immediately notified so that in the event that the defences around the school fail, I will be able to do the task of getting rid of these creatures myself. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about by now, am I correct in assuming that?" Toushirou kept his mouth closed. This wasn't right; wizards didn't know about the existence of Shinigami or hollows yet, but Dumbledore was clearly talking about hollows. Had the text books been wrong? If that was the case, what else were they wrong about? _Everything I know about this time period and place has come from the text books; if they're wrong then what would happen?_

Dumbledore kept trying to make eye contact, but the frustrating boy refused to meet him. As the Headmaster of Hogwarts he knew about these supernatural beings with the giant hole in the chest dubbed 'hollows' but that was about the extent of his knowledge, other than the fact that they wouldn't hesitate to kill a student and therefore must be disposed of before that. But Hogwarts was well guarded and the hollows hadn't been much of a threat before. _But two in only two days, that must be a record_. It was obvious that Hitsugaya Toushirou knew something about the hollows – probably more than what he knew – so he would try and make it seem as though he knew more than he did on the subject. Unfortunately the boy was remaining tight-lipped about it.

"Toushirou, I need to protect the students in my school, and like it or not that includes you. And whether you chose to have my protection or not I still have a whole school full of people that need that protection. If any more of these creatures – and I'm sure you know by now that I'm talking about hollows – are going to come to the school then I need to know, and I have a feeling you would have that information. Am I right?" Toushirou looked straight into Dumbledore's piercing eyes. _And people say my eyes are unnerving..._

"Professor..." Dumbledore leaned forward expectantly.

"Yes, go on."

"I have no idea what you're talking about. I have never even heard of these... hollows was it? I've never heard of them before. I'm sorry that I couldn't have been more help Sir, really. It's not like I want some strange creature attacking Hogwarts anymore than you do, but I can't help you."

"I see." Dumbledore stood up slowly.

"Mr Hitsugaya, when I first met you in St Mungo's you were broken and dying with broken bones all over the place, including a broken spine. And despite all that and my own mind telling me to continue to inquire what had happened, even though you had said you would say nothing else on the subject, I respected your privacy and desisted with my questions. I even went as far as to accept you into Hogwarts even though by all rights I shouldn't have. I have not even received one letter from your old school – which is quite curious if you do think. Now, I can overlook that fact, or I can rethink your position here and also conduct a formal inquiry into what actually happened that day that Tom found you in an alley. The choice is yours and I hope for your sake that you chose the right one. Good day and I hope you feel better soon." And with that the Headmaster walked out of the room, turning the lights off after him.

All throughout the little speech Hitsugaya had been silent, but as soon as the Headmaster had left his carefully preserved mask dropped a fraction as a small bit of worry slipped onto his normally expressionless features. Dumbledore had placed him in a very hard position because there was no way he could reveal anything to Dumbledore, yet at the same time he couldn't allow himself to be removed from Hogwarts either. He didn't really care about the formal inquiry because it wouldn't turn anything up, but if he was expelled this would have all been for nothing. _Damn him!_

There wasn't anything he could do; maybe Dumbledore was bluffing and he wouldn't expel him. Maybe he would just talk to his old school...

"Shit!" Toushirou's eye widened as he thought of the implications that would have. Would Dumbledore really source out his 'school'? He didn't doubt it for a second. If only he could get out of this stupid bed!_ How long has it been?_ He raised a shaky hand and managed to find a clock beside the bed that read 11:29pm. That meant he had been unconscious for a few hours. It had felt so much longer.

He shifted his body to get more comfortable and was about to go to sleep to let his body rest when he heard a quiet shuffling outside the room. Whoever it was they were trying very hard to be stealthy, but in the dead silent hallway the noises echoed loudly. He tensed his body and his body screamed back 'NO! Not another fight!' But he ignored the cries. He got ready to spring up as the door opened when he sensed the familiar reiatsu, making him relax his body. The person slowly crept into the Hospital Wing and he thought to himself,_ she will never become special ops_.

The person shuffled forward and a bit of light played across their face to reveal Hermione Granger, but he already knew that. He waited until she was close before he broke the silence.

"You're really loud, you know that?" The girl must have jumped at least a metre into the air as she spun around to face him.

"I thought you were asleep! Oh wait; I didn't wake you up did I? I am so sorry!"

"Don't worry, I was already awake. But aren't you meant to be in bed yourself? If you get caught in here you'll get in trouble." She sat down heavily in the chair that Dumbledore had sat in not too long ago and bowed her head, her hair falling down to make a sort of curtain.

"I'm so sorry Toushirou." His eyes widened in alarm as he heard soft sounds coming from her and he realised that the girl was crying.

"Wait! It's ok, really! And if you do get caught I'll make up an excuse for you, so you don't need to cry." Hermione lifted her head and he saw the sadness in her eyes and something else almost like... concern or pity it was hard to tell. But why would she be concerned about him or pity him?

"I didn't mean to get upset, and it isn't your fault. I'm not crying because I'm doing something I'm not meant to be doing or because I might have woken you up. But... there is something I need to talk to you about." Her voice broke slightly on the last word and Toushirou felt confused. He was never very good at this kind of thing and so didn't really know what to say to comfort the crying, upset girl.

"What's wrong, Hermione?"

"Promise you won't get mad at me, please." Her eyes silently pleaded with him to accept and his curiosity sky-rocketed.

"Sure, I promise. Now, what's got you upset?"

"I know everything." She spoke so softly that he had to strain to hear her words, but the words he heard must have been incorrect. _Did she say she knows everything? Everything of what?_

"I'm sorry, I didn't hear, can you speak a little louder?"

"I said, I know everything." So he had been right, but what did it mean. His confusion must have been evident on his face because, after a small pause, she continued with whatever she needed to say.

"What I mean by that is that I know _**everything**_." She drew out the word everything, but he was still confused. She obviously wanted him to be able to understand what she was trying to say without actually saying a word._ How annoying_. When she saw that he still didn't get what she meant she got frustrated. _And they say he's meant to be smart, pfft!_

"Toushirou, what I'm trying to say is... that I know you're from the future." Hitsugaya's eyes widened in surprise and he wasn't able to stop his mouth from hanging open. His mind told him to deny it and to make some excuse to whatever evidence she had but he was unable to. _How does she know? That's... impossible!_

"I-I think you are mistaken Hermione," he was able to force out after a few minutes of looking like a complete idiot as the surprise slowly died down.

"That would be impossible, ne? Future! You read way too many sci-fi books, you know that? What could possibly make you believe that I was from the future; you do know that time-travel is impossible right?"

"Watashi wa mōshiwake gozai mase n ga, watashi wa machiga~tsu te i masu, Hitsugaya Taicho."

"But you are mistaken, because..." His voice trailed off as his mind processed what was just said. He had continued the conversation without skipping a beat because it hadn't recognised anything wrong as he had understood everything that was said, but Hermione had just spoken to him in Japanese. She had said '_I'm sorry but I am not mistaken, Captain Hitsugaya'._ The fact that she had spoken in Japanese was, to be frank, surprising, but not outrageously so. But she had used his title – his Captain's title.

_What is going on here? This cannot be a coincidence that she used my title and accused me of being from the future. She knows!_ That last thought was so loud he was surprised that Hermione hadn't heard it. His facial expression had schooled itself so that it revealed nothing, but insides his thoughts were in turmoil. _This is not possible! In fact I would go as far to say that it is impossible. Maybe..._ It wasn't a coincidence either that he was attacked twice in two days by arrancar, one of those arrancar being best friends of Hermione. Did she know something about those attacks? Or worse yet, was she somehow involved in those attacks?_ But that makes no sense! Why would she be talking to me now if she was trying to kill me? Whatever it is, I need to be careful about what I say around her from now on, just in case._ He noticed that she was staring at him and his suspicious instincts went into overdrive about why she would be staring, but then he remembered that she was still waiting for some kind of response from him.

"I have thought about it, and I have decided I will listen to this ridiculously far-fetched story of yours." He mentally patted himself on the back. _Nice job with the nonchalance!_

"Thank you Toushirou. I'm not really sure where to start, but I guess I could start off by saying I know your entire life, starting with when you woke up in Soul Society, right up until you ran for your life to get to the library so you could travel back in time. It was a very... depressing life I guess you could say, what with you always getting teased and then having to prove your worth to the other Shinigami and constantly being betrayed by those you were close to or looked up to. But I've never felt power so strong in my life before, and I didn't even feel your power first hand either! But I have felt your willpower first-hand, and I have to say your determination is inspiring. You've had such a terrible life, but yet you still have the will to move forward and create a better day. You truly are an amazing person Toushirou and I'm glad that I met you, even considering the circumstances of our meeting – what with you being from the future and all."

The compliments rolled off his back as he ignored them; all his shocked mind could really think of was, _this is impossible for her to know any of this stuff, so how does she? Who is her informant?_ They sat in quiet for a few minutes and Hermione was growing slightly uncomfortable. She didn't know how Hitsugaya would react and that was one of the reasons she had waited so long to talk to him. But as she watched the play of emotions on his face she realised that she should have waited longer. She watched as his eyes widened with every new piece of information, going especially wide when she mentioned Shinigami. Then they had started to narrow in suspicion and distrust and all she could wonder was, _what is he thinking of?_ And now as the silence lengthened she saw that there was a slightly annoyed glint in his distrustful eyes. She was about to break the silence when Hitsugaya beat her to it.

"Who is your informant? How do you know this information?" In his own mind the only way Hermione could have got the information was if someone told her – the only someone around who could potentially tell her being an arrancar. Hermione remained stubbornly silent. His eyes narrowed to angry slits. If Hermione was getting information from his enemy then that made her his enemy as well. _What a shame, why would you do this Hermione?_

Hermione didn't know what Toushirou was thinking, but she knew that she couldn't answer his question. '_Just do not tell him that I helped you'. _They had been the parting words Hyourinmaru had left with her. She looked at the boys face and her heart sank. She had wanted to help him so badly, but all she had done was make the situation even worse.

"Get out." Hermione lifted her head to look at the bed's occupant who was now not looking at her, but instead at the closed window.

"Toushirou, I-"

"I said get out, now." She felt hot tears prickling at the corners of her vision. Why was he kicking her out? This whole thing had been a waste of time and all it had done was make her not friends with Toushirou, which made her feel even sadder. She silently crossed the room and placed her hand on the doorknob.

"I'm sorry Toushirou, I really am." And with that she opened the door and exited, closing it behind her.

Hitsugaya felt slightly bad about making Hermione upset, which she had so obviously been when she left, but if she was the enemy than he didn't really care. _Things at Hogwarts are so confusing, and now apparently I can't tell friend from foe. This whole thing has felt like a waste of time from the very start. What am I even doing here apart from learning things that I already know? Other than the arrancar – which was my fault, and wouldn't have been here if they hadn't followed me – nothing suspicious has happened at Hogwarts at all. Except maybe that Harry has been complaining about a headache or something, but that isn't the type of suspicious where I need to be involved. Urgh!_

Toushirou looked out the window again and he saw that the sky was darkening, hinting at rain – possibly even snow. That would be a good distraction from his thoughts. Every minute he stayed in Hogwarts he felt as though he was being weighted down, but now, with Hermione possibly being with the enemy, the weighted feeling increased. He had thought long and hard over what it could be but he was unable to decipher it. All he could do now was try and shut down his over-worked mind and try to once again find the blissful absence of thought in sleep.

* * *

Harry lay in bed, the loud snores from the other occupants making his headache increase. The room, for the first time all year, was warm and cosy because their crazy dorm-mate was too busy freezing another room downstairs in the Hospital Wing. A few days ago he had sent an encrypted message to his godfather – Sirius – and today he – Ron and Hermione were there as well – had finally been able to talk to him, even if it was slightly weird seeming as his head was in the fire place.

They had mainly talked about the problem of his scar – for which no solutions were presented – but they had also talked about Voldemort. According to Sirius the Voldemort had still yet to make his first move and there hadn't even been one spotting of a death eater yet. But Harry knew that it was only a matter of time until the Dark Lord took his rightful place as ruler of the world, enslaving those who had dared oppose him. And he, Harry, would be by his side, aiding in his conquest by lending his power. Another thing Sirius had mentioned was that Sturgis Podmore had been arrested in the Ministry of Magic: Department of Mysteries the other day._ WAIT! Back up a second! Did I just think what I think I thought? Did I just think of Voldemort as the 'Dark Lord' and then condoned his want to be ruler of the world, even going as far as to say I would help him?! Why would I think that?! I must be even more tired than I thought if crazy thoughts like that are slipping into my mind. I don't even know where that came from._

_Maybe it's the truth in your soul. Maybe you've been suppressing these thoughts, but now they have finally been able to break free._

_What? That is impossible! I HATE Voldemort, so why would I want to join him?_

_Power, perhaps. You have always had a want to become more powerful, even at a younger age you had wanted to be powerful, even if you never expressed that desire in words. The Dark Lord can supply you with all the power you could ever want, all you would have to do is reach out and take it._

_This is crazy! I do not, and never want to join forces with the Dark Lor- I mean Voldemort! I would never betray my friends – so many people look up tom me and believe in me. I'm their saviour! I'm not a turncoat!_

_Of course you're not, but think about it, how many people believe you to be their saviour, and how many people believe you to be a crazy, lying child? Technically you wouldn't be betraying them because they never believed in you to start off with. Why do you continue to argue with me Harry? All I'm doing is saying what you're already thinking on a subconscious level._

_This is completely and utterly insane! I'm insane! I cannot believe that I am talking – no scratch that – arguing with myself over a matter that isn't even open for debate._

_Believe what you want to believe, I guess..._

Harry looked around the room and saw the relaxed, sleeping forms of the boys in his dormitory. For once he would like to lead a normal life like them, even if it was for just one day. Why did he have to have so much responsibility saddled on him, he just wanted to be a normal teenage boy whose worse worries was whether he would get a girlfriend or not. Was that too much to ask for?

Luckily the next day was a Saturday, which meant Hogsmeade. He had planned that he, Hermione, Ron and Hitsugaya would go together because Hitsugaya had never been before, but he guessed that idea wouldn't work now considering the white-haired boy was stuck in the Hospital Wing. An image of the gruesome, blood-filled scene that he and Ron had run onto made him feel sick to his stomach. There had been so much blood everywhere, slowly seeping out of the unconscious boy next to Hermione. Why had he been in the Forbidden Forest in the first place, and how had he been hurt so badly? Whatever the answers, Harry knew that he would forever remember that mentally scarring image of Toushirou covered in blood and laying on a blood-covered field of ice, slowly dying.

He felt the familiar tug of sleep drawing him in. He would need to speak to somebody about his growing instability in his mental health, but he didn't know who he should talk to. Dumbledore was ignoring and avoiding him for some reason that he was unaware of – and as much as he tried to deny it, it actually hurt. Also, Ron was terrible at these kinds of things and he didn't really want to talk to Hermione about considering the strange strain that had been on their relationship recently. Apart from those three, the only other person he would feel comfortable talking to would be Sirius, but they couldn't have regular communication. He let out a small sigh; he would think of these things tomorrow when his mind was more alert instead of sluggish. He then allowed himself to succumb to the tempting allures of sleep.

* * *

"Taicho, isn't this place just adorable! Look at all the strange looking shops with weird names. Oh look, that store has a fifty percent off sale, let's go in and buy things while they're at such a reasonable price!"

Hitsugaya Toushirou, Captain of the Tenth Division stood with his Lieutenant Matsumoto Rangiku in the middle of a very strange town. He, Matsumoto and his squad of six people from his division had exited the Senkaimon an hour ago on the outskirts of town and he had promptly split everyone up to go look for, and list, anything that they would consider strange or out of the ordinary. He was going to have to go through some long lists, because the whole town was weird and out of the ordinary.

Not too long after arriving he had been dragged all over the place by a very eager Matsumoto who wanted to do a bit of shopping 'before the mission starts' as she so puts it. It was annoying to say the least and he was slowly losing his temper. He glanced over at the store his Lieutenant was pointing at and he felt his eyebrows rise dramatically. The shop apparently sold all types of 'goods for the average wizard in need'._ This entire town focuses on wizardry and magic, what is going on? And why doesn't this town appear on Kurotshuchi Taicho's scanner?_

"Matsumoto! We are not here to buy frivolous goods from some cult worshippers! We are on a mission, and before you say anything, yes, it has already started!" A few people turned their heads to look at the unusual pair and Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes._ So they can see us?_

"On second thoughts, I think I did see a shop we could go to, follow me, and do not say a single word. Do I make myself clear?"

"Hai!" The two started to make their way through the crowds of people. He planned to get to one of the clothing stores that they had already passed so that they would be able to 'blend in' with the locals. It also wouldn't do if normal humans saw two people in strange cloths carrying big swords – they would probably think that they were under attack or something like that.

When they reached the store Matsumoto's eyes lit up like little light bulbs as the excitement shone in them.

"Arigato Taicho!"

"Urasai," he mumbled, but it was no use because she was already gone, lost in the sea of racks and shelves. He followed at a slower pace and looked at the cloths on offer. There were a lot of dress like items – for both males and females. When he finally found a pair of pants and a shirt that looked half normal (and fit) he went over to the cash register and purchased them. After changing into them, he left the shop and waited outside for Matsumoto.

He watched as the sun steadily rose in the sky indicating the change from mid-morning to noon, but it wasn't until after noon that Matsumoto finally left the shop, weighted down by mountains of bags.

"Matsumoto! I wanted you to buy some cloths, not the whole damn store! Go and return those this instant."

"Oh, but Taicho, that's so mean!" Her voice took on a whiny quality and to a passerby it would look very suspicious for an 'adult' (if you could call Matsumoto one) whining to a 'child'.

"Stop complaining and do it. Also, stop whining to me, people are starting to stare." She pouted but eventually gave in. After ten more minutes and a painful farewell to the cloths she would never get to wear, the two set off, hoping to find a disturbance on the scanner so that they could pack up and go home. The town was starting to freak Hitsugaya out – there was no such thing as magic, yet the whole town apparently thought that there was and it was unnerving.

"Toushirou? Toushirou!" Hitsugaya looked sharply to where he heard his name being called and saw a teenage boy, probably around fifteen or so, with black hair and glasses on his face, calling out to him and waving his arms wildly, almost hitting a person walking past. He could make out that the boy had a companion with red hair who didn't look pleased to see him – though they were both surprised. He briefly met eye contact with the black-haired boy before turning away.

"Taicho, I didn't know you had friends in this town. Or in England for that matter."

"I don't." He creased his brow in displeasure and concentration. The boys were not even remotely familiar, yet here they were calling out his first name and now they were making a beeline for the spot where he and Matsumoto were standing.

"Let's go before they get to us."

"Are you sure? They might have information regarding our mission."

"I am aware of that, but we can't converse in such a public place. We will watch them from afar and wait until we can find the right moment to approach them. Let's go." The two started to walk away and soon they were out of the vision of the two boys.

Harry and Ron looked confusedly at the spot that they had just seen Toushirou at, but was no longer there.

"Hey Harry, are you sure that was Toushirou, I mean, he looked a bit short to be Toushirou. And anyway, isn't he meant to still be in the Hospital Wing?" Harry thought for a moment. He was one hundred percent sure that the person they had just seen was Hitsugaya Toushirou – how many other people did they know with white hair? Also, when they had locked eyes with the other boy he had seen the same coldness, and they were the same colour as well. Though there was something slightly different, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"Yeah, I'm sure it was him, though I don't know how he's out of bed yet, or how Madame Pomfrey let him leave either. Who was that other person he was with?" Ron smiled.

"I don't know mate, but she was pretty hot."

"She is so out of your league man!"

"Who's out of whose league?" Hermione appeared beside Ron with a small bag clutched in her hand. She had quickly ducked into a quill store to get new ink while her friends had waited outside for her.

"Just some person Ron saw that he thought was hot." Hermione smiled slightly at this; Ron thought anything in a skirt was hot. The friendly friend banter continued as the three walked down the street, and it was almost like old times. Harry wished that it would just stay that way forever, just having the friendly, relaxed and humorous conversations, just like they used to, without any of the complications life was giving them. That would be great if everything could stay as it was right at that moment – in Harry's mind it was just perfect.

* * *

Review Responses:

DXmaryoOD: Aww, that's so nice thanks! And I think you'll be happy with the speed in which I updated this chapter - I rushed genius just for you lol

Are-you-ready: Thanks for letting me know that you love my story - it just makes my day. But unfortunately I can't say whether Hitsugaya's life gets better or not - you know with the spoilers and all, so I guess you'll just have to keep reading to find out XD

Lady Queria: So... I put in the confrontation in the chapter aren't I just the best lol XD You'll have to tell me what you think of it though, cause yeah. It wasn't actually going to turn out like that, but it started to right itself - I couldn't make it stop! Anyways, this chapter doesn't have as many words, but hopefully it's still enough to keep you syked. Also I like got your review five times, it was pretty funny cause I would be like "Yay, review!" and I'd open it and it would be the same one lol funny stuff

Uncle Phil: I haven't actually read the manga but I have watched the anime so I know about the crazy, insane power differences between Aizen and Hitsugaya, but hopefully I explained it good earlier. We'll just say for the purposes of this story that Hitsugaya trained really, really hard to get stronger, and Aizen didn't really train at all because he was getting lazy being leader and supreme ruler blah blah blah etc. lol that sounds believable right?

HoN and Harry Potter fangirl: I didn't put Hyourinmaru's human form in this chapter, but maybe it might come up in future chapters if I can like fit it in

FullmetalKeyblade-13: Don't apologise for having a long review! I love long reviews! I'm glad I was able to surprise you with Ron being an arrancar, it makes me feel as though I've done my job properly. And I hope you're glad to note that Hitsugaya hasn't died. Thanks for the review XD

Ziya Hitsugaya, deathnoteno1fan-codegeasslover, sapphire-angel-gem, Kurai, 4marauderers: thanks for all reviewing, it really makes my day to read all the comments that you nice people leave on my story XD


	12. Chapter 10

Yay another chapter! Posted it before my birthday which is on Wednesday, I'm so happy about that. So I am going to dedicate this chapter to myself (can people do that, dedicate things to themselves, I mean? Oh well...) and it will be my own present to myself (how sad that I feel the need to give myself a present... lol just kidding, it's not sad at all XD) Thanks to everyone who reviewed, you guys are great.

* * *

Chapter 10

Hitsugaya and Matsumoto stayed low as they ran along the rooftops of the buildings, trailing the two boys that they had seen earlier, though now another girl had joined them. The three of them had walked down plenty of deserted allies but the small captain hadn't wanted to be revealed in front of the girl in case she didn't know him. It was tiring, and Matsumoto silently complained of a sore back – they had been at this for hours.

Hitsugaya on the other hand had long lost his patience and the bite in the air testified to that. _How can they stay amused for hours when all they're doing is walking in the exact same places that they did two hours ago?_ A small blip rang through the air from the captain's pocket and he took out his soul-phone without losing step. His eyes cast downwards as he saw three dots moving in on an area not too far away from where he and his lieutenant were at the moment, and the phone stated that they were only low-level hollow – not much cause for concern.

"Matsumoto, you keep trailing them and the first chance you get I want you to talk to those boys and see what they know about me, understand?" Matsumoto nodded to show that she did understand and her eyes asked where he was going without saying anything so that there wouldn't be a chance of being overheard.

"I've picked up three low-level hollow not too far away, so I'll dispose of them and hopefully get back in time to talk to those boys." Hitsugaya swiftly changed direction and slipped into a silent shunpo in the direction that they had just come from. Matsumoto continued trailing the trio silently, making note of all the cool-looking places that she would drag her Taicho back to when she had the chance.

"Harry, I don't think that's possible, you couldn't have seen Toushirou, he wouldn't have been allowed to leave the Hospital Wing yet." Matsumoto's keen ears picked up on Hitsugaya's first name and she tuned into the conversation being held not too far below her.

"Hermione, seriously, how many people do you know with white hair and aqua coloured ice cubes for eyes?" Matsumoto narrowed her eyes at the description, how dare that child speak of her captain that way!

"That isn't nice Harry, but, I don't know, maybe it was a trick of the sun or something?" The boy named Harry and his red-haired friend looked at her incredulously, not believing it for a second. A retort was about to be made in reply, but Matsumoto felt now was as good as any time to confront these strange humans. She silently dropped down from the roof behind them, landing in a crouch before agilely stretching to stand straight. She smiled at how her presence was still unnoticed and the urge to scare them had to be beaten back with a stick in her mind – her Taicho wouldn't be happy if she scared them.

The three friends stopped walking and Matsumoto shunpo-ed to the entrance of the alley that they had entered before making it seem as though she too had just entered the alley, making noise as she walked. Three heads shot up at her arrival and the red-heads face lit up when he saw who it was. The girl – Hermione – however, looked at her in disapproval and Harry had his face set in an unreadable mask.

"Hello! What a pleasant day for a beautiful stroll, ne?" The three kept their guarded expressions as she walked closer. They were both curious and suspicious.

"So, I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but I couldn't help but hear that you were talking about a person named Toushirou. That wouldn't, by any chance be Hitsugaya Toushirou would it?" The reactions were that of surprise and the girl, Hermione, narrowed her eyes.

"How do you know Toushirou?" She demanded of the taller woman. Matsumoto felt her lips slightly tug downwards in a frown.

"I could ask you that exact same question – how do **you** know Hitsugaya Tai... Hitsugaya-san?" She caught herself just before she let his title slip, not that these children would know Japanese, but she still had to be careful. Hermione made no reaction, but inside her mind little bells were ringing – this woman was so incredibly familiar, yet she couldn't remember who she was, though Hermione had a feeling that this woman was very important. And the fact that she had almost called Toushirou Taicho – unless she was going to say something else completely different – made her feel it was even more important for her to remember.

"We go to school with Toushirou, and at the moment he shouldn't even be out of bed, but I could have sworn I saw him earlier, with you in fact." Harry answered the question smoothly. This woman seemed very nice with her kind blue eyes and bubbly-looking face, but he got a strange feeling from her – much like he did when he was around Toushirou. He watched as her face turned to one of surprise and confusion.

"School? What school is that?" Ron looked dumbstruck. _What school? Considering where we are wouldn't that be obvious?_ Out loud he replied "Hogwarts." When she still looked confused he elaborated.

"Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry." Matsumoto's face instantly lit up in recognition and the three relaxed slightly. In her head however the only thought that she had was_ WTF!? Witch craft and Wizardry!?_

"So... was Toushirou with you earlier because he shouldn't be out of bed yet."

"You said that before, is he sick?" Harry shook his head.

"Nah, he got hurt... somehow. Anyway, he's pretty banged up and Madame Pomfrey said he wasn't allowed to leave the Hospital Wing for any reason, and Madame Pomfrey can be pretty scary when she wants to be if you know what I mean." An image of Unahana Taicho stole into her head and she shuddered a bit.

"Yeah, I know exactly what you mean." Her eyes shifted ever so slightly to the right of her before quickly looking back at the three children. She had felt a slight increase in spiritual pressure which was quite icy – which only meant one person. She would have to go and see if he needed any help; the hollows must be stronger than he thought if she could feel his reiatsu this far away.

"Well, I should be going, it's getting late. You kids should get going as well; I can just tell that it will rain soon. Bye!" Sure enough, not two minutes after the strange woman was gone the clouds burst, letting loose the cold, heavy rain on top of them. The three friends all ran forward to get to the closest building, which just so happened to be the Three Broomsticks. They dashed in, trailing water everywhere and letting in some of the cold air before the door closed. The mood inside was cheery and light as they went to find a seat.

"Where did that rain come from?" Ron exclaimed as they sat down at a small, out-of-the-way table.

"I don't know, but it is freezing!" Harry and Hermione took their seats as well, and for a little while the only sounds that they made came from the chattering of their teeth as they attempted to warm up, sitting in a companionable silence. Harry let his mind wander as he pondered over the last few minutes. He couldn't be sure, but that feeling he got from that woman, he had been feeling it for hours before he met her. Was she following them? If so, then why?

"I wonder who that lady was." Ron voiced what the three of them were thinking. It was a bit strange that this stranger comes out of nowhere and just _happened_ to overhear their conversation. It all seemed a bit fishy.

* * *

The rest of the afternoon flew by; the memory of the strange woman leaving their mind as they enjoyed their rare free time in the village. Soon it was time to trudge back up to the school, sloshing through the mud left over from the sudden downpour. The three were weighted down with bags of goodies that they had bought from the shops in the village, spending whatever money they had brought with them.

"Hey guys, you look like you could use a hand."

"Or two,"

"Or even three."

Fred and George appeared on either side of the group from nowhere, both sporting wide grins. Hermione rolled her eyes; she knew that they probably wouldn't help anyway.

"So... Ron, saw you chatting to some lady earlier."

"She's way too old for you,"

"So if she gave you a phone number,"

"We'd gladly take it from you."

Hermione knew that they had wanted something; they always did when they imposed on their group like this. _Guys are so shallow; all they see are a person's outer beauty. For all they know that woman could be absolutely horrid but they probably wouldn't even care._

"Sorry, but I didn't even get a name from her." The twins frowned in unison.

"What were you talking about then?"

"You were talking forever."

Harry stopped and looked at the two.

"Were you following us?" The twins looked at him guiltily; their eyes downcast to hide their merriment – they weren't sorry for following and possibly spying on them.

"Well Ron, nice talking to you,"

"But we gotta go now, so c'ya!" The two raced off up the path and through the gates before anybody could say anything more. Hermione shook her head with a slight smile, _those two are weird_. They continued walking. Hermione looked towards the looming buildings that make up Hogwarts and she thought of the injured boy in the Hospital Wing. It was impossible that he had been in town that day, but even so she couldn't help but get rid of the niggling thought, _what if he was? What would that mean?_

Hermione was so deep in thought that she hadn't even noticed that she had passed through the Entrance Doors until she heard the difference in footsteps. She looked around surprised. Harry and Ron were talking about some homework that they needed to do and probably wouldn't do until the last second and then ask her for help. Neither of them had noticed how she had spaced out for a few minutes. _Phew!_

* * *

Matsumoto shunpo-ed to the spot that she last felt her Captain in, but when she arrived there was nobody there. Residue left over from a fight was all that was left in the area. She frowned, her brow creased as she wondered where he might be. The area was out in the open with hardly any tree coverage, but there was a dilapidated old shack that he might have entered. He walked over to the run-down fence and was about to jump over it.

"What do you think you're doing missy?" Matsumoto stopped and spun around to come face-to-face with a wrinkled old man. He looked at her suspiciously as she smiled guiltily.

"Oh, um, eh... Sorry, I didn't realise... I speak not much English." She raised her hand and nervously scratched the back of her head as she hoped he would buy her pathetic excuse. Apparently he did because his face cleared of his suspicion as he smiled at her.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realise you were foreign. I hope you have a good stay in England, it's a lovely country. But anyway, that shack there – the Shrieking Shack is what's called – you're not allowed to go in there." He lent in as though about to tell a huge secret. Matsumoto eagerly lent in as well in anticipation.

"Apparently it's... haunted!" He drew back waiting for her reaction. She figured this must be one of the tourist attractions in the area – a haunted house – so he figured she might as well play along, put those amazing acting skills to good use. She widened her eyes and drew back, a look of horror and fear on her face.

"Hau... haunted!? A-are you s-sure?" She placed the right amount of tremble in her voice and the old man looked pleased that he was able to get a good reaction out of the foreigner.

"We can't know for sure 'cause anyone who goes in there... is never seen again. And sometimes, at night time, you can faintly hear their screams ringing through the air." Matsumoto gasped appropriately, her 'fear' evident on her face. It was almost comical actually now that she thought about it.

"Don't worry missy, as long as you stay away from that place you'll be safe. Well, I best be going, you watch yourself 'cause it'll be dark soon and these are trying times. Hope you enjoy the rest of your stay." The old man started to walk away, lifting his hand up in farewell without turning around. Matsumoto mentally patted herself on the back at her little acting performance._ Worthy of an award that was_. And then she paused. She felt his reiatsu long before he silently dropped down to the ground behind her.

"How long were you there?" She turned around with a disapproving look on her face.

"I arrived just in time to witness your ridiculous antics – and you better have a damn good reason why you're here and not trailing those kids like I told you to!" Hitsugaya crossed his arms as her gave her an icy glare.

"Taaiicchhoo! That isn't fair! I thought you were hurt so I came to look for you, and when I got here you weren't here, so I was going to look in that creepy old house but then this creepy old man came and then you know the rest." Her whiny voice did nothing to warm the cold temperature back up. He raised his hand up to his face and massaged his temple.

"So did you find anything useful?" Matsumoto placed her finger on her chin as she thought as far back as her conversation with the three school kids.

"Hmm... Oh yes! Apparently you attend some school. What was the name again? Something strange... Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! And also you're hurt and shouldn't be out of bed." The small Taicho let out a sigh of frustration. _It could be just a case of mistaken identity... But a school for witchcraft and wizardry?! What is this place? Definitely worth looking into back in Soul Society._

"Did you get a description for this boy that is supposedly me?"

"No."

"Did you find out anything else about him?"

"No."

"Did you find out anything else about those three kids?"

"No."

"Did you even find out their names?"

"No."

"Did you find out anything else about this school?"

"No."

"Did you find out **anything** else?"

"No." Matsumoto bowed her head as Hitsugaya let out a very annoyed breath.

"Next time, I swear I am not bringing you with me when we go to the Living World."

"But Taaiicchhoo-" Her next words were cut off by an icy glare. Hitsugaya started to walk off, and as he walked he summoned a hell butterfly. Matsumoto looked on curiously, wondering what he would say.

"Attention, we are retreating back to Soul Society. Meet in the clearing in the designated meeting place immediately." The butterfly flew away as soon as the message was finished.

"Why are we leaving Taicho? We haven't finished investigating yet."

"I've inspected this entire area while you played actor and there is nothing here except a few strange shops. There has been no sign of the disturbance, and as for this school those kids were talking about, as I said before I've checked this whole area and there are no schools, magical or otherwise. And even if there was we would need more information before we go barging in there considering there could possibly be an unknown element involved – like... magic." His last word sounded foreign and unfamiliar on his tongue.

He didn't believe in magic; magic was a myth for little kids to make them happy, not for mature Taichos. The two reached the area that they had arrived in where they found the rest of the team assembled. After a quick inspection Hitsugaya deemed that there was no new news and opened the gate to go back to Soul Society. He waited for the rest of his team to go through before he followed them. As he was about to enter he felt a strange reiatsu and he turned around with a small frown. Everything was as it was a few seconds ago, no trace of the mysterious power source.

"Coming Taicho?" Hitsugaya tore his eyes away from his surroundings and continued into the gate, all the while feeling as though he was being watched.

When the gate disappeared from sight, along with all the Shinigami, the silent observer leapt from the tree and walked away, brushing off a few twigs from their cape. _Things are going to get interesting around here_. A smile lit their face as they continued walking. The introduction of the Shinigami was an unexpected development, but not an unwelcome one.

* * *

The gate opened back up in Soul Society in the tenth division. The Shinigami from the scouting team slowly dispersed to return to their normal duties as Hitsugaya and Matsumoto walked purposefully towards the first division to report their findings. Once they reached their destination Hitsugaya continued towards the Soutaicho's quarters while Matsumoto respectfully waited for him outside.

He reached the doors guarded by the two vigilant guards and he bowed his head in acknowledgment.

"I wish to speak to the Soutaicho, I have just returned from my mission in the World of the Living and wish to inform him of my findings."

"Hai!" One of the men opened the door and kneeled before the Soutaicho, his head respectfully bowed.

"Hitsugaya Taicho is here to report on his recent mission to the Living World." Hitsugaya walked past the guard and into the room, while the guard retreated and closed the door. The room was massive and as Hitsugaya walked across the vast expanse of floorboards he could hear his light footsteps as though they were thunderous. He stopped at an appropriate distance from the desk where the old Captain-Commander sat, his staff held in both hands.

"I was unable to find the source of the mysterious reiatsu, but I did find out a few things. The entire town seems to be centred around a magical theme and there is supposedly a school in the area called Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry – though I found no trace of it.

After an investigation of a few students who go to this school, I have found out that a student by the name of Hitsugaya Toushirou is in attendance there. It would be my recommendation to investigate this issue more thoroughly, and once every facet has been analysed another team should go down to investigate more thoroughly. It is in my own opinion that this strange reiatsu will be solved once the mystery of this school is solved."

"I agree with your recommendation Hitsugaya Taicho. I want you personally, and any other person you deem necessary, to go through the archives and find out whatever information you can on this school and on magic. In the mean time I will have Kurotshuchi Taicho look over the area to create a better, more updated map and scanning device that will include all things you have documented today. Is that all?"

"Hai!"

"You are dismissed then. Oh, and Hitsugaya Taicho, you are responsible for this mission and all outcomes that will result from it, understand?"

"Hai!" With that Hitsugaya turned on his heel and marched out of the room, bowing just before exiting the door._ So I'm responsible, ne? Let's hope this doesn't turn out to be a complete waste of time then._

When he passed by the entrance to the Soutaicho's quarters Matsumoto fell into step with him.

"So where to now Taicho?"

"Now we go to the library and do a little reading." Matsumoto looked at him as though he was crazy. When he didn't return her look or say 'just kidding!' but instead continued to walk in the direction of the library, she knew he was being serious. _Oh! This is going to be sooo boring!_

* * *

A few weeks passed without incident, and soon enough Hitsugaya was let out of the Hospital Wing with the promise that he 'would not engage in any more reckless activities that may endanger his health'. As far as he could tell Dumbledore hadn't made good on his threat to expel him, but then again who would expel an injured person? He was probably waiting for the right moment to conduct follow-up investigations or something of the sort. As for visitors that he had received in the few weeks that he had been out-of-commission – not including Hermione's first visit and Dumbledore's visit – that made two.

Two annoying people that had come at the same time every single day without fail just to annoy him or 'keep him company' as they called it. _Torture is the word I would use_. Fred and George Weasley. For some reason unknown to him the two of them had made it their goal in life to pop up out of nowhere at random times to try and sell him their products. Thankfully when he was hospitalised they didn't try to sell him anything. No, he got the 'injured discount' which meant he could get the things for free!

He slowly walked to his first class in almost four weeks with his bag slung over his shoulder. Some considerate person had taken the time to pack his bag for all his classes for the day so that he wouldn't have to go all the way up to the Gryffindor Common Room._ Probably a house-elf_. He fished out his time-table to see what class he had to start off the week and he stopped dead in his tracks.

"You have got to be kidding me..." He mumbled to himself. The first class was Defence Against the Dark Arts with Professor Umbridge, and he was now five minutes late. What a way to start the week. He walked slowly forward, passing a few unusual signs on his way scattered along the walls. Normally he would stop and read them, but he figured he had drawn out the inevitable long enough, and he could always read them later.

He reached the polished oak door and raised his knuckles to smartly to rap them against the wood. He waited until he heard a 'come in' in a fake, high-pitched voice before pushing the door open. Any conversation that might have been taking place stopped as soon as he stepped into the room. Nobody knew for sure what had happened to the transfer; all anybody knew was that he was in the Hospital Wing and was injured in some way.

"Mr Hitsugaya, so you have finally rejoined us. You are now..." She looked down at the hideous pink watch on her wrist. "Eight minutes late. That would mean a detention is in order, now please sit down while I continue with the lesson. If you have trouble catching up then that's your own problem." She turned away back to the board full of curly script as Hitsugaya slid into a seat in the back of the classroom. The lesson dragged on forever without any knowledge actually being absorbed by the students.

Hitsugaya let his mind wander as he threw his gaze around the classroom, lingering first on Harry and then on Hermione before drawing it back to the front of the room. He had had a lot of time to think these past four weeks, and looking back he now realised that he had been unfair towards Hermione. He would try to speak to her again, and maybe apologise, but only if it was needed.

After class Hitsugaya picked up his bag and slid it over his shoulder as he waited for the golden trio to pack up their belongings. As soon as they left the classroom he followed and soon fell into step with them. Ron kept looking over at him quizzically, but didn't say anything as the boy refused to make eye contact. Hitsugaya, after much deliberating had decided that the best way to stay in Harry's good books would be to become friends with him again, and also to be on good terms with his friends, meaning Ron. That meant, as much as it hurt him to have to do it, he would apologise and make it sound as sincere as he could, even if he didn't mean it.

"So... are you feeling better Toushirou?" Harry was the first to break the silence that had descended on them as they walked to Herbology. Hitsugaya nodded his head.

"Yes, I'm quite fine now thanks to Madame Pomfrey."

"Yeah, she's pretty good at the whole healing thing, ya know?" Hitsugaya smirked a little at the awkward conversation. It was better than nothing he supposed.

After Herbology Hitsugaya discreetly pulled Ron aside much to the red heads displeasure.

"What do you want Toushirou? Going to threaten me again, like last time?" Hitsugaya cast his eyes down towards the floor, and even though he had told himself that he didn't mean the apology he was about to give, a small part of his iced over heart seemed to disagree with him.

"I'm sorry Ron." Ron looked at him in surprise and suspicion, as though waiting for the catch.

"I know you don't trust me, I mean I wouldn't trust me either, but I truly mean it when I say that I'm sorry for threatening you." He lifted his head and looked the other boy in the eye. Ron seemed to search for something in the aqua depths, and after digging real deep he finally found what he was looking for. He slowly nodded his head.

"I accept your apology, but that doesn't mean I won't be keeping a close eye on you ok?"

"I understand." The two walked to rejoin with Harry and Hermione at the Gryffindor table. Harry looked up as his best friend collapsed down beside him and instantly started piling his plate high with grotesque amounts of food.

"Where were you guys?"

"I just had to get something and Toushirou decided to come with me."

"Oh..." Harry looked at the boy suspiciously. He had only just rejoined school life, but he acted as though he had never been away. But Harry wouldn't forget that he had been absent; he wouldn't forget that image of Hitsugaya bleeding on the ice... He shook his head to banish his thoughts from his mind. Apparently Ron and the boy had put aside their difference and were getting along; Harry figured he might as well do the same. During break the four of them left the Great Hall after they had finished eating to walk around.

"Oh guys, I just remembered I need to get my books for arithmancy next, so I'll be right back." Hermione was about to dart up the stairs when Hitsugaya answered.

"Yeah, I need to get my books to, so I'll come with you." Ignoring the strange look he got from the girl he swept past the two boys to follow her. They walked at a slower pace than the one Hermione would have set if she was alone, and the girl was feeling the strain from the awkward silence. Hitsugaya knew he needed to talk to her, if not just to alleviate his suspicions of her. When they reached a deserted area Hitsugaya stopped. Hermione kept walking until she realised that he had stopped before she turned back around to look at him questioningly. He took a deep breath.

"Hermione, we need to talk. When we talked in the Hospital Wing a couple of weeks ago... That wasn't really the best time to bring up that subject. I'm going to be completely honest with you, and if I'm right in my suspicions then this could do more harm than good, but... When you told me what you knew and refused to tell me how you found out, the only conclusion I could come up with was that you got that information from my enemies, which makes you one of my enemies. Are you Hermione?" He looked up at her and she could almost see the pleading in his eyes, asking her to tell him that he was wrong. She gasped slightly when she heard what he had been thinking; the reason why he had kicked her out. Her eyes softened as she felt sadness settle over at the thought that she could ever betray him.

"Toushirou, it's ok to be suspicious and maybe even a little paranoid sometimes," she walked forward so that the distance between them was lessened. "But not at the cost of your friends. I would never betray, I swear. I wish that I could tell you, but he made me swear that I wouldn't, I'm sorry." _He?_ Toushirou concentrated for a moment. He was sure Hermione dropped that hint deliberately, but who? Suddenly he took a step back as a memory bombarded him.

'_He went to jump into a shunpo when he felt a strange sensation in his chest. Looking down he saw that there was nothing wrong, but the strange feeling that was now flooding his entire upper-body felt familiar. Toushirou's eyes widened as he finally recognised the feeling that he hadn't felt for almost six years – the frigid cold power of the most powerful ice Zanpaktou. The power seemed to seep into his very core and he fell to his knees by the sheer weight of it. But there was something weird about it, off, because even though the power surrounded him it didn't seem to be entirely directed at him either. After what felt like an eternity the weight lifted and he was able to breathe properly again. Slowly he rose to his feet and ran a hand shakily through his white hair. That had been strange and overwhelming, and for a second he had thought that his closest friend was back; that he his sins had been forgiven.'_

"No way..." He whispered the words to himself as he thought it over. Was it possible? Could other people enter his inner world without his permission? Could they even enter his inner world full stop? He bowed his head so that his hair covered his eyes as he phrased his next question. If Hyourinmaru was the one who told Hermione everything and then made her swear secrecy then she wouldn't straight out say 'yes it was you Zanpakuto spirit that told me'.

"So... was it cold?" Hermione frowned. _Was it cold, what's he talking about?_ And then she realised what he was hinting at.

"Very much so; I felt like I was going to get frostbite or hypothermia or something similar." Hitsugaya smiled slightly. So it seems Hyourinmaru was still looking out for him. He nodded his head.

"I see. Well, we better get those books, ne?" When he met her eyes Hermione saw that they held forgiveness and understanding in them and she grinned at him. They were officially friends again. As they walked Hermione started talking again.

"I meant what I said earlier Toushirou, it's ok to be suspicious of a person, but if it costs you something in return for it then it isn't worth it. I know that you're probably the most paranoid person that I've ever met, but that is no excuse to disregard a friendship, ok? In the end, I guess you have to ask yourself who is more important – that person or yourself." Hitsugaya creased his brow.

"I can't say I've ever thought of it that way before. It's an... interesting look on things I guess."

* * *

As winter set in the temperature in the castle plummeted and most students were seen huddling together in small groups, trying to preserve body heat. Hitsugaya had found out what those signs around the place were – some sort of decree stating that Umbridge was some sort of High Inquisitor, whatever that was. She had attended a lot of his classes so far to inspect the teachers, constantly writing on a clipboard and 'hmm'ing and 'ahh'ing throughout the entire lesson, which the majority of the staff very much disliked.

Hitsugaya found that after returning to school life he was finding most things more bearable. Classes were as repetitive and boring as always, but not unbearably so now that he could find pleasant company in Harry, Ron and Hermione. Harry was still a bit iffy about him, but the four of them had managed to put aside their differences for the most part and form a bond of friendship of sorts. Every now and again Hitsugaya would still get the spontaneous urge to strangle Harry, but those urges were becoming less and less frequent.

At the moment Hitsugaya was sitting reading a book on the window sill in the Gryffindor Common Room. Harry had gone for a walk around the school and Ron was being helped with his homework by Hermione by the fireplace. Suddenly the portrait opened and Harry came through, covered in a very light dusting of snow. Hitsugaya shook his head in disapproval; one of these days Harry would be caught when he went for his walks at night. He went back to his book until he felt the trio walking toward him. Harry seemed very excited about something, but that wasn't unusual considering the boy was very excitable; Hermione and Ron looked as confused as he felt. In a hushed whisper Harry told the three of them what had got him excited.

"Hagrid's back!" Hermione's face split into a wide smile and Ron grinned, but Hitsugaya still felt very much in the dark.

"That's great Harry!"

"Yeah, let's go see him." The three nodded in agreement of the idea and then looked expectantly at Toushirou. He just looked back before turning to his book.

"Have fun."

"You're coming with us."

"No I'm not." The three exchanged looks over the top of his head.

"Yes you are."

"No, I'm not."

Five minutes later the four of them were walking through the castle to get to the front doors that led out onto the grounds. Hitsugaya was in a foul mood, still wondering how he had been convinced to come.

"So, who's Hagrid?"

"Hagrid is the Hogwarts gamekeeper and Care of Magical Creatures teacher. Professor Grubbly-Plank was just a fill-in until Hagrid got back. He's a great guy, I'm sure you'll like him." Harry gazed at Toushirou for a second before turning away. Just looking at the student made him feel cold because Toushirou had neglected to pick up a jumper saying he didn't need one. So now all he was wearing was his thin, cotton summer shirt._ He's crazy, I swear!_ They all knew by now though to not comment on what he wore and when he wore it, so Harry wisely kept his mouth shut.

They walked through the snow, and surprisingly it seemed to placate Hitsugaya a little bit and he stopped grumbling about how this was 'a waste of time'. They reached the hut by the edge of the forest and Harry reached out a hand to knock on the door. It didn't even sound like the noise of the knock had made it through the thick wood, but a few seconds later the door swung open and Hitsugaya knew instantly that he would not like Hagrid. The man was massive! He made Hitsugaya feel so much shorter than he actually was, and he did not like that feeling.

Hagrid's face beamed at them when he saw who his visitors were and he quickly ushered them inside. Hitsugaya wrinkled his nose as he saw the giant man was holding... a piece of raw meat to his face. _That is disgusting; is that meat green?_

" 'Arry, 'Ermione, Ron, it's great ta see ya guys! What'cha been up to?"

"It's good to see you to Hagrid; Care of Magical Creatures just hasn't been the same without you there. Where have you been?" Hitsugaya stayed by the door as he locked eyes with the most massive dog he had ever seen in his life. They seemed to be having a staring contest. Meanwhile, Harry, Ron and Hermione had taken a seat at the large table.

"Well, now I'd love ta tell youse, but..." His eyes rolled over in Toushirou's direction as the boy continued his contest with the dog.

"Who's ya friend?" Hitsugaya finally broke eye contact to look at the enormous man.

"Hitsugaya Toushirou, I'm new this year." Hagrid seemed to be thinking something over, and then a little light bulb went off in his head.

"Ahh! Ya tha' alley kid tha' Tom found outside his pub, aren't'cha? And then Dumbledore met ya at St Mungo's, yeah I remember him tellin' me 'bout you." At his words Harry, Hermione and Ron looked at Toushirou with wide eyes. They didn't know much about his past or his origins (except for Hermione), but they had assumed that he had come to England with his family.

Harry frowned, _found in an alley, and he only met Dumbledore at St Mungo's? That couldn't have been too much sooner than the start of the Hogwarts term, which means that Toushirou must have skipped a lot of red tape to be able to go to Hogwarts._ Hitsugaya coughed and smiled slightly.

"Yes, I do suppose that would be me. But anyway, don't worry about me, I won't tell anyone where you've been so you can just continue with your story. Just pretend I'm not here." Hagrid looked at him distrustfully.

"Well..." He let the meat fall from his face onto the table as he took a seat. Hermione gasped as they saw the large bruises on his face, and his nose looked like it may have been broken. It was only then that they noticed that his hair was matted with congealed blood, and the way he moved hinted at broken ribs.

"Oh my! Hagrid, what happened to you?" Hagrid let out a sigh as it seemed he would have to tell his story.

"Ya see, I've bin up in the moun'ains, lookin' fer somethin' – top secret mission given ter me by Dumbledore." The three at the table looked confused, but Toushirou knew exactly what the man was talking about.

"Giants..." His voice was barely audible but four heads instantly shot up to look at him.

"Toushirou, that's ridiculous-"

"No sane person would go looking for giants-"

"Why would Hagrid be looking for giants-"

"Who told ya?" Hermione, Ron and Harry had started to speak at once, but were cut off when Hagrid talked. Hagrid gave the small boy a once over look as though he could find the answer in his posture. Hermione looked at Hagrid incredulously.

"Are you serious Hagrid? You've been looking for giants?"

"Ya sure are a nosey lot aren't ya? I wish I could, but it's more'n my job's worth ter tell yeh that." Hermione thought for a second.

"How about we make a deal? If you tell us your story, Harry will tell you about how he was attacked by the dementors." The reaction was almost instantaneous. Hagrid leapt to his feet, dropping the green meat as he did.

"What?! What do ya mean attacked by dementors?"

"Well, earlier this year during the holidays, my cousin and I were attacked in Little Whinging, and then the Ministry expelled me and so I had to go to a hearing, but tell me about the giants first."Hagrid looked like he was going to refuse but one look at Harry's face made him sigh and continue with his story.

"Well, I had ta get to the moun'ains, but it wasn' easy 'cause I was bein' trailed by the Ministry most of the way. Anyway, I had found a whole pack of 'em, 'bout seventy or eighty. Sad really considerin' there used ta be loads once. So I made contact with the Chief and things were goin' smoothly, but after a few nights there was a fight and the Chief was killed and replaced by his murderer. Well it turned out this new Chief didn' like me and tried ta kill me. Apparently the death-eaters had already gotten into his ear so stayin' would'a bin useless. We got no giants for allies in the war, but I can bet ya anythin' that we'll have 'em as enemies." Hitsugaya snorted and Hagrid pierced him with a look and was about to question him when a knock sounded at the door.

The four students stared at each other wide eyed; they hadn't brought the invisibility cloak because not all four of them would have fit underneath it. The knock sounded again and Hitsugaya took action. He ran to the corner dragging Harry and Ron, and hoping Hermione followed; thankfully she did. He took out his wand and muttered a spell. Hagrid looked back at them and seemed to be pleased with what he saw and went to answer the door. Harry was sweating, he didn't know what Toushirou had done, but he felt very much exposed in this cramped little corner of the hut.

"Rubeus Hagrid I presume?" They could hear the obvious contempt in Professor Umbridge's voice as she invited herself in.

"Aye, and who might you be?"

"Delores Umbridge, Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and High Inquisitor at Hogwarts. I speak for the Ministry of Magic and I am responsible for making sure that Hogwarts stays very much on par with the Ministry's schedule."

"Oh, so yer from the Ministry, thought I recognised ya. Yer work under the Minister himself don't ya?"

"Yes, that is correct; I was Senior Undersecretary to the Minister. Now I would like to ask you a few questions." Her eyes scanned the area before returning to rest on Hagrid's face.

"Why were you late in returning to Hogwarts? It has been quite some time since the start of the term. None of your colleagues have been able to provide any information on your whereabouts." Hagrid looked slightly flustered.

"Well, ya see... I've bin away fer my health. A bit o' –o' fresh air yeh know."

"Yes, because as gamekeeper fresh air must be so hard to come by." She wrote something down on the clipboard that she was holding.

"Now, I heard people; who else is here?"

"Wha', oh uh, nobody 'sides me and Fang here." He bent down and scratched the dog behind the ears.

"I see." She moved around the hut, opening and closing cupboards; looking under the bed and the table. When she found no one in hiding she walked back over to the flustered half-giant.

"There are four sets of footprints leading up to your hut."

"Well, I only just got back, so maybe somebody came down here earlier..." His sentence trailed off when he saw the disbelieving look on Umbridge's face.

"There are no returning footprints."

"I don't know how that's possible. Erm..." Umbridge wrote something else down on her clipboard.

"Last question, how did you sustain those injuries?"

"Oh, I had a bit of an... accident."

"What sort of accident?"

"I..." Hagrid's face looked as though he was grasping at straws. "I tripped." Hermione almost audibly groaned at the lame excuse, and Hitsugaya thought,_ file that excuse to be used later_.

"You tripped?" Umbridge's voice was cold and disbelieving.

"well, when ya as big as me falling tends to be a lot more... violent than with most people, ya know?"

"I see. Well I should be off now, but I must inform you that as part of my role as High Inquisitor it is necessary for me to inspect my fellow teachers, so I daresay we will meet again soon." She turned on her heel and moved to exit the door.

"Wait! You're inspectin' us? Why?" Umbridge turned her head around to look at him.

"The Ministry is determined to weed out unsatisfactory teacher, Hagrid. Goodnight." And then she was gone, out into the snow on her way back up to Hogwarts. After a few minutes Hitsugaya stood up, breaking whatever spell he had cast as Hagrid looked at them.

"Whatever you guys did, it was quick thinkin'. But seriously, inspectin' people, pfft!" He slowly walked away shaking his head as he walked.

"Well we should be going Hagrid, but be careful. Umbridge is only looking for an excuse to remove teachers close to Dumbledore, which includes you."

"Got ya. Now hurry up and get back up to the Gryffindor Tower ta get some rest. It was good seein' yer again, and it was good meetin' yer Toushirou." Hagrid looked at them, and it was as though it was the first time he saw Toushirou and noticed what he was wearing.

"Blimey! Yer gonna freeze teh death!"

"I'm fine." Hitsugaya's voice developed an icy quality that rivalled the temperature of the snow outside and Hagrid dropped the subject quickly.

* * *

They got back up to the toasty warm Common Room and they lounged in the chairs around the fire. The room was deserted as everybody was in their dorms asleep. Harry yawned.

"Umbridge is a horrible person!" The boys all looked at Hermione as she cried out what she had been thinking on the entire trip up to the school.

"We aren't learning a single thing in her classes, and now she's inspecting all the teachers and acting all high and mighty... It's horrible." Toushirou was sitting in the chair furthest away from the fire and was deep in thought. He quietly verbalised the idea that he had been thinking of for a while now.

"Why don't we just teach ourselves?" Three pairs of eyes looked at him.

"I mean, it isn't like we're going to learn anything from her like Hermione said. So... we should just teach ourselves." Hermione started to nod her head, liking the idea.

"Yeah..."

"But we can't do much by ourselves, I mean, all right we can go and look up jinxes and stuff in the library and practice them I s'pose." Ron spoke in a defeated tone.

"I agree – we need someone to teach us; a proper teacher that can show us the spells in practice and improve us if we make a mistake."

"But who?" Harry looked at his friends and Hermione looked back, suddenly realising who the perfect teacher would be.

"What about you Harry?" Harry looked at her incredulously and then turned to Ron, ready to exchange the exasperated looks they sometimes share when Hermione has an outrageous and ridiculous idea. However Ron looked thoughtful.

"It has merit, I mean, I'm sure you'd be a great teacher." Harry started to laugh, sure that they were joking and he turned to Toushirou for support but the boy wouldn't make eye contact, meaning he would get no support from that corner.

"Harry, think about it, you're the best at the subject in the year, and just look at what you've accomplished!"

"Like what?"

"How about in the first year you saved the Philosopher's Stone and defeated You-Know-Who.

"But that was luck, not real skill-"

"Second year you killed the Basilisk and sealed the Chamber of Secrets; you also destroyed Riddle with his diary and saved my sister."

"Yeah, but if Fawks hadn't shown up I-"

"Third year, you defeated hundreds of dementors at once and saved Sirius and Buckbeak."

"You know it was a fluke; if the time-turner hadn't-"

"Last year you faced You-Know-Who again-" Hermione and Ron took turns to list Harry's achievements, but Harry cut them off.

"Listen to me! Just listen, I know it sounds great when you put it that way, but most of that stuff was luck and I didn't even know what I was doing most of the time. I just went with my instinct, and I almost always had help." Ron and Hermione started smirking and Harry started to get angry.

"Don't sit there smirking, acting as if you know better than me! I was there! I didn't get through it because I was great at Defence Against the Dark Arts, but because-because help always came at the right time, or because I got lucky. But I practically never have a clue about what I'm doing." The two students continued to smirk and Harry jumped to his feet in anger.

"You don't know what it's like! You've never been in that situation before! You think fighting is just memorising a bunch of spells and throwing them at people, like you're in class? It is so much more than that. The whole time you know that the only thing between you and dying is your own brain, or guts or instinct whatever! You need to be able to think straight even though you know that you are possibly milliseconds away from dying; from being murdered or tortured, or having to watch your friends die. It's hard! They just don't teach you that in class; they don't teach you how to deal with those types of situations. I'm not here because I was great at spells, and Cedric isn't dead because he was bad at them! How could any of you know the pain of watching a friend die?"

"Don't be so arrogant Potter!" Three heads whipped around to look at Toushirou who had snapped at Harry in a very rare moment of loss of control.

"Arrogant?! How am I being arrogant? I am merely stating a fact – you three cannot understand the pain of losing somebody, of watching somebody die right in front of you and being powerless to stop it happening." Hitsugaya turned his head down towards the ground. At Harry's words his mind had instantly wandered to his most painful memory that he held.

_The room was huge and Hitsugaya stood in front of Hinamori, training in vain to protect her from the monster in front them. It was just the two of them, unarmed, against a roomful of Espada, Arrancar and Hollows, with Gin, Tousen and Aizen at the front of the room. Aizen stood up and walked forward. Hitsugaya had a deep wound in his side and his vision kept blurring, but he had to protect Momo, even if it meant dying. He could hear her silent tears falling behind him as she tried to look away from the man she had admired most. As Aizen approached Toushirou snarled at him freely, warning him to stay away. This only amused the kindly-looking demon and he smiled._

"_Don't worry Hitsugaya-kun, I won't hurt you."_

"_Stay away from Hinamori you monster!"_

"_Your words hurt me, but it's her choice whether or not she comes with me." He turned to the trembling girl._

"_Momo-chan, don't worry. It turns out that it was all a trick and I was framed." The man started to form his words in order to weave his spell over Hinamori, who was slowly losing herself to him. She stepped out from behind Hitsugaya as her eyes filled with hope._

"_Aizen Taicho..." She walked forward and Hitsugaya lunged out to grab her, but he was dragged backwards by Ichimaru who had shunpo-ed down. Hinamori reached Aizen's side. Aizen looked up and locked eyes with the small Taicho._

"_Now Hitsugaya-kun, you need to be punished for being so disobedient." It was over before he could even blink. Aizen drew out his sword and rammed it through the vulnerable girl's body and then he pushed her away, like a piece of rubbish._

"_NOOO!" He struggled against Ichimaru's strong grip and Hinamori turned her head to look at him one last time, blood bubbling from her lips._

"_Gomen Shiro-chan. I... wasn't strong enough. Gomen..." It looked as though it pained her to speak, and the tears continued to make tracks along her face. Her eyes slowly slid shut._

Hitsugaya pulled himself out of the memory, his head still bowed to hide the emotional turmoil in his eyes.

"You are being arrogant; how can you say we don't know that pain – how would you know?" His voice had dropped to a deadly whispered that wavered slightly.

"I will tell you something now Potter, you think you know, but you don't know a damned thing! You watched one person – who you weren't even close to – die in front of you; a quick, painless death. You have no right to talk of torture. You are the one that has no idea the horrors of watching your friends – your close friends that you rely on to be there for you, to always have your back – you have no idea what it's like to watch them get tortured in front of you; as they beg for the blissful gift of death; as they beg you to help them and relieve their suffering but you are unable to do so. So don't be so arrogant as to presume that you are the only person that suffers from the pain of someone's death." Harry looked at his white-haired friend defiantly.

"As if somebody like you would know the pain of a close friend or acquaintance or whatever dying."

"Excuse me? Somebody like me?"

"Yeah, you're so cold-hearted and closed off, I doubt that anybody is able to even get close enough for you to be even mildly affected by their death." Harry never saw it coming. He was flung across the room and he crashed into the wall making a loud crashing sound. Toushirou lowered his fist which he had just used to punch Potter with and turned on his heel and stalked towards the stairs. When he reached them he stopped and without turning around spoke.

"Think about the class Potter, it's a good idea. You say they don't know your pain, then make it so that it's impossible for them to feel it; to feel helpless in a situation." And with those parting words Hitsugaya walked up the stairs to his dormitory.

Hermione glared at Harry as he picked himself up of the floor, rubbing his sore, and probably bruising, cheek.

"That was low mate," was all Ron said before he followed Toushirou up to the dormitory. Hermione got up and shot one last glare at him before going to her own dorm. Harry sank down to a sitting position and cradled his head in his hands. He didn't know why he said those things to Toushirou; he hadn't meant to, they just spilled out without him being able to stop them. He would have to apologise in the morning. _That is if he'll even talk to me again_.

* * *

Responses to reviews:

FullmetalKeyblade13: I'm pretty sure I would be able to fashion an entire story even if I did kill off Hitsugaya. Maybe I'd call it, hmm... Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. I like it, I think it has potential. It's nice to know that I can put in little twists that surprise people, it makes me so happy XD

DXmaryoOD: Don't you just love surprises? And yes, you are just that awesome. However, I haven't made the Shinigami from the present meet up with future Hitsugaya... yet *shifty eyes*

Yami-no-Tamashii: Omg, I laughed so hard when I read your review lol, I just had to say that. Thanks for reviewing XD

Ziya Hitsugaya: I just love hearing from you with your great ideas! Thanks for sticking with me for ages and reviewig ans stuff XD

Lady Queria: Only got the review once this time, phew. I just love the whole Harry striking a pose (can totaly imagine it) and then Hitsu running away from the crazy people lol. Oh, I don't worry, I get what you were trying to say on the Hermione issue; I know that you're not some sadist who loves it when people get emotionally hurt (I hope anyway...) but yeah.

Kurai, Millie M. Banshee, Flamelord99, aisu-sakura, sapphire-angel-gem: Thanks for all the great reviews guys, I just love reading them all XD

* * *

And that is another chapter for everyone. It would be great if you all reviewed and just told me your thoughts whether they be good or bad. Also, I would just like to say, because I forgot in thelast chapter, but I don't know how to speak Japanese, so if I made any mistakes then just give me a shout out. All my Japanese speaking skills are purely the work of multiple internet translators.


	13. Chapter 11

Finally, the next chapter up! Wow, what a long time between uploads. Things have been so hectic lately so I'm sorry for posting this chapter so late, a lot of things have just been happening (like an inhuman amount of tests!) so I didn't have much time to write :( Anyway thanks for all the great reviews, also, thanks to everyone for wishing me a happy birthday, it made me feel so loved :)

* * *

Chapter 11

_Fire... There was fire everywhere consuming everything. He hated fire, he knew that much. The ground shook as an explosion rocked it, producing more of the hateful fire. He couldn't breathe; he was suffocating from the heat and smoke. Where was he? How did he get here? He tried to look around but his watery eyes could only make out vague shapes of people in the distance and when he tried to move closer to them it was as though he hadn't moved at all. He was surrounded by the flickering walls of red, trapped. He knelt down as the lack of oxygen made him weak, his breaths coming in sharp, gasping chokes. Footsteps were heard coming closer, but he didn't know if that was just his own imagination or not. Would they be friend or foe? He was lying on the ground now, unable to remember when he had lied down. Black shoes come into his field of vision; heavy, black boots that were standard issue military boots. But not just any military; Aizen's military. _

_He strained to look up, to see who was standing over him, but the face was shrouded in smoke and darkness. The faceless man knelt down and picked him up by his collar, his feet leaving the ground. The sudden pressure on his windpipe cut off any supply of air that he might have been getting. He felt dizzy and light headed, the images of the flames and fire moulding together, spinning around. Am I the one that's spinning, or is it the images? He couldn't tell if he was moving or not anymore, and the foggy, distant shapes blurred into the flames, so that fire became people and people became fire. The colours swirled around, invading his senses, and he was drowning; drowning in the hot sea of red, unable to breathe; unable to move. The hand pressed harder on his throat and his hands clawed at it, to relieve the pressure, but his clumsy hands missed that one, choking hand. His arms fell down, falling down to the ground and then further. His body was following his arms as he fell through the ground, his air supply still gone even though the choking hand had released him. Was he going to die here? I don't want to die... He was falling, falling so far and his eyes slowly slid shut..._

Toushirou sat up straight, his chest moving rapidly as he sought to calm his breathing. The room was dark, and for a second he thought he was still in the nightmarish hell before his eyes adjusted and he saw that he was in the boys' dormitory at Hogwarts. Sweat fell down from his face as he lifted a shaky hand to massage his temple. He used to always be plagued by nightmares, but ever since arriving at Hogwarts the nightmares had thankfully backed off. He kicked off the sheets which had skewed and twisted around him, making him feel constricted. He slowly stood up after his breathing had returned to normal and he went to the window beside his bed and threw it open. He then slipped onto the frozen sill and sat down, one leg hanging out the window as he rested his flushed face on the cool glass. He turned his gaze up to the moon that struggled to shine through the heavy cloud cover – they were going to have another storm soon.

Hitsugaya didn't know how long he just sat there, his leg freezing over as water clung to his leg and turned into ice. He slowly let his eyes slip shut as the cool night breeze washed over him, his sleep thankfully devoid of dreams.

"Blimey! Who o-o-opened the window?" Hitsugaya opened his eyes and saw that the sun was rising in the distance to signal the start of a new day. The other boys had woken up, and they had gotten a not so nice surprise as they looked at the little icicles hanging everywhere. Hitsugaya swung his leg back into the room and massaged some feeling into it before closing the window._ Whoops._ After getting changed in the frigid ice box the boys rushed as fast as they could to leave the room and to escape down to the blissful warmth of the Common Room. Toushirou followed suit.

Breakfast was uneventful as always, with the owls coming and delivering post to their respective owners. However, it turns out that breakfast wasn't going to be as uneventful as he had thought as a large, well-groomed tawny owl landed in front of him. It looked like the type of owl that only very rich people could afford. He figured it must have made a mistake and his eyes scanned around the hall to see who it could possibly belong to. The arrival of the magnificent owl had drawn many eyes towards him, and he heard people whispering things like, 'wow! I didn't know he was rich!'

Fred and George, the last people he wanted to see, sat down on either side of him.

"That's an impressive owl you got there!"

"Yeah, but you better take your mail – it's getting impatient." He saw that Fred was right as the owl stuck out its leg where an envelope was attached. When he didn't immediately reach out to grab it George did it instead. As soon as the letter was gone the owl launched itself up into the air and flew away. Hitsugaya promptly snatched the letter away from the annoying twin and looked at it. It was in an envelope made of very fine, but still heavy parchment, and it was sealed with a wax seal that he had never seen before. His name was written clearly on the front with a barely legible – though somehow familiar – script, but as he read it he noticed something was off about the way it was addressed, and as he stared at it for a few minutes he realised what it was. On the front of the letter was written:

Hitsugaya Toushirou

Taicho of the 10th Division of the Gotei 13

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

He made a small choking noise and immediately stuffed the letter into his bag, and at the same time standing up out of his chair in order to leave. The twins looked at him as he tried to make his hasty get away and looked at him in curiosity. Hitsugaya left the hall as fast as he could without making it look like he was hurrying, fully aware of two sets of blue eyes on his back as the twins watched him. After he had escaped the hall he walked swiftly through the halls to get to his first class, where the classroom would most likely be empty. As he entered the charms classroom he saw that it, thankfully, was empty and so he withdrew the strange envelope from his bag. He ripped off the seal and opened the envelope to find... nothing. The envelope was completely empty, no letter, no anything. His brow furrowed as he tried to understand what it meant.

He carefully slit along the seams of the envelope and opened it out flat so that it looked like a normal piece of paper, but still there was nothing. _Why would somebody go out of their way to send me an owl to give me an envelope with no letter? It doesn't make any sense_. There was also the issue of how it was addressed. He heard multiple footsteps as people started to come to class and he tucked the parchment into his bag to continue his investigation later.

People filed into the classroom and Hermione, Ron and Harry came over and took their usual seats near him. He didn't fail to notice the tense atmosphere, as though nobody knew what to say. He mentally smiled; they didn't know how he would react to what they would say because they didn't know if he was still angry. To them he was an unknown, somebody whose actions and words were unpredictable. Throughout the lesson Harry kept looking like he was trying to start up a conversation with him, but he never ended up saying anything and just went back to brooding in silence. Hitsugaya sighed. If Harry was going to be too much of a coward to talk to him then he would have to make the first move, though he didn't know what he would say. He figured he would wait just a little longer to see what Harry would do, that sounded reasonable. He turned his concentration back to the class and struggled to keep it there. Lately he had been having a concentration issue, being unable to focus on the boring classes as he was a lot more advanced than the classes being taught. Most of this little kid stuff he knew and could do in his sleep.

The morning passed by in a blur, and the next thing he knew he was sitting in the stifling hot divination classroom without any recollection on how he had actually gotten there. He peered down at his time-table and saw that he had completely zoned out and had missed transfiguration and Herbology, as well as the end of charms. How had that happened? He shook his head as though to dispel any cobwebs and gazed at the book in front of him. In his opinion divination was a waste of time, one of the truly useless subjects at Hogwarts. He sighed inaudibly and picked the book up, looking at the writing on the page to figure out where they were in the lesson. Apparently they were looking at dreams and trying to decipher them. The dream – nightmare more like it – that he had last night was still fresh in his mind, but he didn't particularly feel like sharing it on the paper that Professor Trelawney had provided, so instead he just flicked through the book to see what it would say about his dream – mostly just from curiosity.

_According to this book, my dream last night meant that... I feel trapped, confused and disorientated, that I'm trying to do a jigsaw puzzle without all the pieces._ He smiled internally. _What a load of crap!_ He shut the book and stared out the small, frosted window across the room, unable to make out anything through the thick glass. His attention started to wander again as his gaze became more and more focused on the glass. As he watched images began to form in the glass, too blurry to make out. He concentrated harder, as though everything depended on what he saw. However, as he stared harder and harder at the solid, unmoving circle set into the wall the harder it was to look away – not that he tried to.

Flames appeared to lick along the glass, still blurry but now definitely recognisable as the dreaded fire. His vision comprised solely of the flaming glass, and it was like figures were in there, being eaten, consumed, devoured by the hungry flames and he was sitting there, doing nothing to save them. He couldn't make out who it was meant to be as the one figure became many, and the many became one; growing and shrinking, never staying the same way for too long. He was trapped in the glass, unable to free himself. Suddenly the figure in the flames started to become clearer and clearer and he could make out who it was; make out who the person slowly dying an incredibly excruciating death was. It was-

A tap to his shoulder and he was jerked out of his own world of fire and glass which he had created for himself and as he looked up he saw that most people in the room was looking at him and he had no clue as to why.

"Mr Hitsugaya, are you just going to sit there all day, or are you going to answer my question?" Toushirou looked at Trelawney, searching his mind for any questions she may have asked and coming up blank.

"Wha- what was the question again?" He had to clear his throat as he spoke, because for some reason it had become choked and blocked. Trelawney sighed in exasperation.

"I said, have you completed writing out the meaning to your dream, or dreams, depending on how many you have?" Hitsugaya stared blankly at her for a second, his mind a complete blank concerning what he had been doing before he was distracted. .And then he remembered and glanced quickly down at the completely empty piece of paper.

"Not yet... almost." Trelawney's gaze followed his and caught sight of the paper and sighed again.

"Almost implies that you have at least started, which you have not. This is not something I would have expected of you, 5 points from Gryffindor." She continued to walk around the class, stopping every now and again to inspect somebody's work. A few people had turned around to give him scathing looks because of how he had lost house points for not working, but he pretended to ignore them and they soon turned away. _Hypocrites, I doubt any of them have started either._ His gaze wandered back over to the empty glass of the window, but the images he had watched not five minutes earlier appeared to be permanently ingrained in the rough surface.

What was wrong with him today? First he has his first nightmare in months, then he blacks out for almost three whole lessons, and now he was seeing things in glass – and not to mention the strange letter he got earlier that morning. But the thing that disturbed him most was the last image he had seen in the glass before his attention was diverted; he had seen himself, floundering and dying, unable to breath in the suffocating blanket of oppressive heat and hungry fire. Toushirou wiped a hand across his face as though to try and get rid of the picture in his head, but it wouldn't leave. The most unnerving thing about it were his eyes - they were dull and blank as though already dead, as though they had already given up the fight, the will to continue on. He felt his hand clench into a fist, hard enough to make his knuckles turn white from the pressure on his skin, but he couldn't relax the muscles enough to unclench his fist. Never would his eyes look like that; never would he give up without fighting until his last breath; never.

As the end of the lesson rolled around Toushirou still hadn't written down a single word, but he had come to the conclusion that his strange episode was brought about by the heat of the room which had brought back the lingering memories of his dream. Yes, that was the only explanation there could be. However, as he was about to leave the room he heard Trelawney's voice break through his thoughts.

"Mr Hitsugaya, please wait a moment." He paused and turned back around to face her, his face schooled to show no emotion. As Hitsugaya stayed to talk with Trelawney Harry and Ron made their way down the ladder out of the divination room. It was lunchtime at the moment and all Ron could talk about was what food might be available and how hungry he was. Harry on the other hand was deep in thought. _Toushirou's seemed... different today. It was like he wasn't even there in transfiguration, Herbology, charms and divination._ He wondered if maybe his comments from the previous night stung more than he was letting on, and he felt the first real pang of guilt start to gnaw at him. It hadn't been nice to say those things, but then again it wasn't like Hitsugaya had been particularly nice either, however, he knew the decent thing to do would be to apologise to the shorter boy. Toushirou truly was a mystery to the raven haired boy, and even though he made it look as though he had forgotten Harry remembered almost every detail that was ever revealed about Toushirou – like what Hagrid brought up when he first came back about Toushirou being found in an alley.

_He's your enemy._

The voice in his head was like second nature now and so when Harry heard it he didn't even react or even notice that it wasn't his own thoughts, instead just listening to what he had to say to himself, because that part of his mind, the sub-conscious part that picked up on everything, it was very wise and smart and was never wrong.

_I can still feel a little doubt coming from you; you don't believe – no, you don't want to believe that the short boy is against you. I have proof._

The wise voice always had proof.

_He hurts the people you're closest to just so he can hurt you. Ask Ron, he was threatened by the volatile and unpredictable exchange student – why do you think they went from hating each other to being friends? Do you think it's because they actually enjoy each other's company? Ha!_

"Hey, Harry, hello!" Harry looked at Ron with a small frown.

"What?"

"You zoned out on me for a second. Are you alright mate?" Harry inclined his head forward in a tiny nod and continued walking while Ron watched him with a slightly worried look on his face. Lately Harry had been acting strangely and it was worrying him. _Oh well, I guess he knows how to look after himself_. The two friends sat in silence while they ate, with the noise around them seeming deafening in comparison. It was like there was a solid wall between them at the moment, that is until Harry broke the silence.

"Ron, can I ask you something?" Harry kept his eyes trained on his plate. He had told himself on the way to the hall that he didn't need to know the answer, but he did.

"Sure thing mate, what's up?"

"Well, this question may seem a little strange, but have you ever been... threatened by Toushirou?" The silence was back as Ron looked at Harry dumbfounded. _How did he find out?_

"Uh, what? Um, I mean, uh, that's ridiculous, like that short pipsqueak could ever threaten me! Ha!" Harry sighed at his friend's obvious covering up, which answered the question more truthfully than Ron did. Everything was starting to fall into place – maybe Hitsugaya was even a spy sent to Hogwarts by Voldemort to spy on him. His eyes widened at that thought; it had never occurred to him before, but it was just so believable! Harry leaned in closer to the table and beckoned Ron closer as well so that what he was about to suggest would only be heard by the two of them.

"Ron, I think Toushirou is working for Voldemort!" Ron snorted and looked as though he was about to protest but Harry quickly continued, effectively cutting off any denial.

"Just think about it Ron, there is something different, off, about Toushirou. First off Hagrid said they found him in an alley and Dumbledore just happened to let him into Hogwarts. Convenient, wouldn't you say? Well I would say – plant. Next off there's the whole train at the beginning of term. That showed skill and training well beyond that of somebody our age, which meant that he has been doing this kind of thing for a while. I mean, to be able to jump onto a moving train and to stay on it... that's just ridiculous! And don't forget about our first potions lesson how he made that weird potion.

Now I'm not going to say I was eavesdropping on any conversation, but I did hear two teachers talking about it once and they said that that potion was one of the most complex and deadly poisons known to man – not something that can be made by a fifteen year old! Plus, he was sitting next to me when he made it so maybe he figured he'd kill me right there and then. Whenever I'm around him I just feel that there's something wrong, and I know that you've felt it as well Ron. And when we talked last night and he had a go at me it seemed that he was speaking from experience, and I don't know if it's just me, but his eyes looked too old and weary, that they had seen too much. I need you to trust me Ron, he's working for Voldemort, I'm so sure of this."

Ron thought for a moment and was about to say that Harry was wrong, even with the multitude of evidence stacked up against Toushirou, but then he remembered how the boy had threatened him, how he had looked.

_He turned and looked at Toushirou and what he saw made his blood run cold. The transfer student was standing a few steps away and he was looking at Ron with cold, hard, emotionless eyes. He had never felt intimidated or scared of the student before unlike so many others, but standing here now with the realisation that he was by himself, in a forest he wasn't meant to be in where nobody could see or hear him, standing not five feet away from someone who looked like he wouldn't hesitate to kill, Ron was terrified._

His protests died on his lips and he found himself ever so slowly nodding in agreement. Harry felt relieved that his closest friend had believed him; it was as though he as grounded and that Toushirou wasn't so much of a threat now that both he **and** Ron were on his case.

"Ron, we can't tell Hermione, she's too close to him and would never side with us. But that means we need to protect her ok?" Ron nodded energetically.

"I agree, but if he hurts her then I will hurt him."

"You can't underestimate him Ron, he does work for Voldemort so he must be pretty good at whatever it is that he does."

* * *

Hitsugaya walked away finally from the cursed divination room and Trelawney. Lunch was almost half over, but he didn't feel like going to the Great Hall to get food – he wasn't that hungry at the moment – so instead he angled his path towards the doors leading outside to take a relaxing walk around the lake. The ground was covered in fresh snow, having snowed some more at some point during the day, and the snow crunched solidly under his feet leaving behind a clear, deep trail. The lake was partially frozen which was even better than when it was not frozen at all – he always like ice better than water. Finding a good place to sit Toushirou rested under a snow-covered tree, its branches laden down with the fluffy whiteness and providing a good barrier against the sun.

His spot wasn't too far away from the lake, but it was a fair distance from the Hogwarts castle. The place he sat was pretty secluded and unable to be seen from the castle, which allowed some privacy. He sat and watched the sun reflecting off the clear, pure ice, blinding yet comforting as though drawing him into its cold clutches to clear away his thoughts. He was enthralled by its beauty, as the light danced across the surface creating diamonds of light when the light hit an uneven or rough surface of ice. The snow was seeping through his clothes, but he ignored the ever present wetness that came with it. It was like time was stilled just so he could enjoy this moment undisturbed. He couldn't remember the last time he had been allowed to just sit and do nothing; to have no pressures or weight on his shoulders forcing him to move without stopping; to have no time to enjoy the simple pleasures in life that so many people took for granted.

At times he wondered why he fought, what was the point? Most of the people he was fighting for were long dead and the remaining people he fought for were humans who he didn't know; humans who revelled in destruction and disaster. But it was at times like this, so few and far between, when he was able to remember why. He was fighting so that one day people would not have to live in fear and constantly worrying if today would be their last day; to have the beauty of nature in the future without it being destroyed or in shambles. Everyone wanted to survive, and everyone had a right to; who was he to decide who lives and who dies anyway? If there were people that wanted to live and needed saving then he would fight for them, no matter whether they're human or soul, he would fight.

The changing reflections on the ice were the first indications that he had stayed way longer than he had intended. The second was that he couldn't feel the lower half of his body because it was numb due to the fact that the snow had made him wet because he had sat in it for so long. He turned his eyes around and found that the sun was slowly dipping behind the horizon and that it would be about dinner time right now. He had missed the remainder of the lessons for the day but for some reason he just couldn't bring himself to care and he slowly let himself fall onto his side until he was lying in the snow, the rest of his uniform becoming soaked in the process.

His breathing was even and calm but his insides were in turmoil. He had never felt this before, but granted he had never been able to just slow down before either. Before it was always on the move, never stopping, never thinking, you had to be the best to survive and that meant living in the fast lane. He had never had to think about what had actually happened and though it had been years for him since the start of the war and people he had known had died within those years he had never acknowledged their deaths. Sure, he had been sad but he let his sadness to turn to anger to fuel his determination and he had never been allowed to stop and mourn for them, to shed tears because there was no time for such weaknesses on the battle field, and he also had been unable to fully comprehend what it meant to die.

To die... To never be able to wake up; to never talk with those you loved; to never laugh or play or joke with them ever again; to be unable to say the things you meant to say to them; to know that they had never truly understood how you felt for them because you were unable to tell them in time; to be unable to live. He had died once before but he couldn't remember it, but right now, thinking about death and what it meant to truly die it hit him. So many people were dead – people he would never be able to talk to again, to never see or hear or touch.

Had he told Momo just how he felt about her before she died? She was his sister, his best friend, his light in the darkness. He couldn't remember.

What about Rangiku? She was always loyal and supportive; she would follow him to the ends of the world if he asked, but she was always there to annoy him and to show in her own way that she cared for him more than a superior and subordinate – more like a sister and brother. He couldn't remember.

Orihime, had he ever thanked her for letting him stay at her house when in the Living World? He couldn't remember.

Ichigo, always so rash and impulsive and never calling him by his last name or title, showing a familiarity that implied friendship; had he ever said that he, even though he never showed it, believed Ichigo to be a friend? He couldn't remember.

Ukitake, always giving him gifts and treating him like a child, showering him with parental love like a father would to a son; had he ever thanked him and said that he cared for him? He couldn't remember.

Unohana, so kind and loving, she was always there looking out for him even if it didn't seem like it at times; had he ever told her how grateful he was to her, for being there and helping him when he needed it, whether it be physical or emotional pain? He couldn't remember.

So many people, so many names, so many things he wanted to say but couldn't remember if he had said it, so many people that he couldn't tell them how he felt towards them because it was too late, so many people dead.

Lying in the snow, thinking about the people that he had lost, the people that he would never be able to tell what he thought of them, having always been so closed off when he actually had time left to spare, Toushirou let the tears fall silently from his face, the first tears that he had shed since before the war. His face was numb from the welcome cold so he was unable to feel the moisture on his face, but he had his thoughts which were centred on those that had died. As what little light left slowly disappeared Toushirou cried for his fallen comrades, friends, people bonded by something so much stronger than simple words that anyone not from that situation could never understand. He missed them so much; it hurt as though the pain was a literal needle jabbing into his heart over and over again.

_What would it be like to die? What would it be like if I died right here and now on this snowy field? What would it feel like; would it be painful or peaceful? Considering all the things I've seen and done I deserve a painful death._ His conversation – if that's what you could call it – with Harry the previous night is the only cause he could think of for these unwanted emotions; he had allowed himself to think of an extremely painful memory and now the flood gates were open, unable to be closed. But right now he could care less of the cause as he gradually cried himself into a fitful sleep in the cold, wet snow.

* * *

Dumbledore strode through the building, and he would have looked very out of place in his wizard's robes amongst people in casual muggle attire had the building not been completely deserted due to the lateness of the hour. The building was the headquarters for the London Police Department and he had pulled some strings with a few alleys – it helped to have his people in strategic places such as the police department – to allow him to view a dead body which was found some weeks ago, the day before the Hogwarts term started to be exact.

The cause of death was unknown and the case was stumping the cops and Dumbledore's connection in the building had called him to ask him to look at the body. According to him the cause of death had a magical component at the very least, which would mean a wizard or witch was involved. This could mean that Voldemort was finally taking action and was starting his reign of terror in the muggle world or there was magical killer on the loose, either way Dumbledore would need to solve the case to stop either one of those probable scenarios.

He swiftly entered through another door and found the temperature in the new much cooler than in previous rooms and knew at once he was in the right room – the morgue. Taking out his wand he whispered a spell into the quiet air which was soon thrown into light as a small globe of light hung suspended above his wand. He started searching for the right door and paused in front of one on the far left side of the room furthest away from the door. Without waiting a second longer Dumbledore opened the door and slid out the body on the metal tray. The man was larger than most, mostly due to muscle mass, and he had a large slash scar on his face which ran down from his hairline to just below the eye, and had he been alive Dumbledore would bet that that eye was unable to be opened because of the scar.

Apart from that scar the man's skin was unblemished with no sign of physical violence. It was possible that he had been poisoned but there were no puncture wounds had it been injected by a needle, and if he had ingested the poison it would show up on a tox screen, which it had not. According to all the evidence provided this man should not even be dead, which is where Dumbledore came in. He started to look at the body with his eyes as a preliminary inspection before he went onto the next method. He muttered a spell to his wand which started to glow a very faint green and he then slowly moved it over the body, the skin glowing green where the wand passed over. The spell was designed for autopsies so that the body didn't need to be cut open. It searched for physical anomalies, such as organ failure, punctures etc, but it also looked for magical influence on the body. If magic had indeed killed this man then it would show under the green light which would turn a different colour depending on what type of magic it was – orange for spells cast by wand, purple for potions.

It was slow going, but he was soon rewarded for his efforts. On the man's back the faint green slowly turned colour to a red colour, which meant that magic had indeed been used on the body. Dumbledore was about to start congratulating himself on his find when something occurred to him. He cast his gaze back down to the body to the colour the skin now was and he frowned deeply. It was obviously red, not orange or purple, which meant that neither a potion nor a spell had been used – but they were the only two types of magic that could kill someone. So what did red mean? This was the first time this had happened and he was at a loss for what to do next. Never before had he even heard mention that this spell could even turn up any colour other than orange or purple – it was most curious and troublesome.

He started to rack his brains to try and think of any spell that may give any indication to whom the killer might be but could think of none. Thoroughly frustrated Dumbledore slid the tray back into the space and closed the door before leaving the room and then the building. Once outside he swiftly apparated with a soft _crack!_ and appeared in front of a small house. He may not be able to understand the meaning of the different colours but he knew someone he would know if it was information that could be known. Mildred Carmichael performed autopsies on a daily basis for the ministry of magic, so this was her field of expertise.

Walking up the short path to her door Dumbledore proceeded to knock sharply on the wood. He didn't have to wait too long before the door was pulled open to reveal a middle-aged witch of average height. It was obvious that she had just gotten out of bed as her brown hair was messy and rumpled. It appeared that she had come to the door to give the person on the other side an earful of what she thought about them coming at this late hour, but open seeing who it was her face split into a wide grin.

"Now Dumbledore, you should know that it's impolite to show up at this hour! But seeming as your here you might as well come in." She stood aside to allow him entry into her home and Dumbledore walked past her.

"I'm terribly sorry for intruding but there is a matter which I would like to bring up. It is concerning the spell _analisi_, the one you use to perform autopsies with." The two sat down in the living room in comfortable chairs. The room was bathed in a soft light from the overhanging light as Mildred looked at Dumbledore with interest.

"What about it? I'm sure you know just as much about it as I do."

"Yes, that's what I thought as well, but it would appear that I may be mistaken. You see I performed an autopsy on a man this night before I came here, using this spell, and I did indeed find magical influences upon his body, however, the green light turned, not orange or purple, but instead red. What does it mean when it turns red?" Mildred was shocked at this new piece of news from the Headmaster of Hogwarts. In all the years she had worked at the Ministry of Magic she had never once heard of this happening. In fact, all her years of training before joining the ministry led her to believe that the spell turning any other colour apart from the two normal colours was impossible.

"Are you sure it was red? It may have been orange and you just mistook it for red." Dumbledore shook his head.

"It was definitely red." Mildred sat in thought for a few minutes as she contemplated on the issue.

"Mildred, what does this mean?"

"Well, I would have to look into it, but I'm fairly sure that it's impossible for it to have turned red, which means... that this is some kind of new magic, the likes of which this world has never seen before." The two sat in silence, thinking about those words which brought with them so much weight. Magic the likes the world has never seen...

* * *

"Sir, everything is going according to plan."

"Excellent! Did you send that letter?"

"Yes sir! Sent and received this morning, sir!"

"You have done good work, don't worry, you will be rewarded generously in due time. Soon we will all revel in the riches of reward." A figure stood up from the throne-like chair in which they had been sitting. A long black coat sat on their shoulders, swishing behind them as they walked forward. All eyes were focused on the one being.

"Soon I shall have enough power to break free from the clutches of devil and I will rise to reign over this world which is rightfully mine! And all those who stand by me shall rise with me to the top in my new world. Here there is nothing he can do to stop us, here **we** are in control and **he** is powerless! No more shall I stand in somebody else's shadow; no more shall I be underneath somebody. I will be on top, and soon there will be nobody left to stop me!"

Cheers were heard throughout the area as the people vocalised their agreement with the little speech. The impressive figure stood in front of an advanced looking screen and gazed upon the words written there. One name kept leaping out to bite at him in defiance of his power. That one person could serve to throw a wrench – a very, very large wrench – into the workings of his plans. He needed to dispose of him because the longer he stayed alive the bigger a threat he became. He abruptly turned on his heel to once more face the onlookers.

"Only one person stands in the way of freedom; only one insignificant little fly stands in the way of absolute power and domination! What do we do with little flies?" The figure paused as though waiting for an answer, but when none were forth coming they continued as though they hadn't stopped.

"We squash them!" Everybody instantly broke out into loud cries and cheers once more, and the figure had to raise his voice slightly to be heard over the raucous.

"Saiyel!" One person detached themselves from the crowd to stand before the figure.

"Yes sir!" He stood with military precision, with his heels clicked together and his back ramrod straight.

"I want you to take your men and squash this fly for me. You will leave immediately."

"Yes sir!"

"Also, Saiyel, remember this: if you don't get the job done then there is no point in returning."

"Yes sir!" He turned on his heel and marched toward the door, calling out names as he went. As he left the room five people detached themselves from the crowd to follow their superior officer out the door. The figure turned back towards the monitor and stared at it with unseeing eyes. Saiyel and his men were the best officers he had with him at this time, they would surely be able to get the job done. _This time... this time you won't get away, Hitsugaya Toushirou!_

Responses to reviews:

XxBreakingxxPointxX: Yeah the Ice Prince did lose his temper, and I was just like wow! And I wrote it lol. Oh, and thanks for the cookie it tasted great XD

Black Flash: Don't worry, I won't have Soul Society kill Harry (or will I? dun, dun dun) so you can just put away that nice chainsaw...

DXmaryoOD: another chapter up just for you so you can be awesome telling me about my awesomeness XD (awesomeness is such a great word don't you agree?)

FullmetalKeyblade-13: I didn't even try to keep the characters in character, but I'm so happy that you think they are IC because that just makes it that much better to read I feel. You're right, I should have taken 50 points off Gryffindor for Harry just to see what would happen lol, love the long review - but don't not do homework because of my story, homework is important... Man I tried the whole stern thing but it just didn't work lol!

xTKx: Thanks for the review, and don't worry if some things seem a bit confusing at the momen because they will (hopefully) all come together at the end and make complete sense

light soceress: thanks for the great review and sorry about the misspellings, I do try to catch them all but some slip past more spelling radar (this story is also unbetad[sp?]) so thanks for the tip and I'll read back over previous chapters to see if I can fix some of them up. It is kinda hard to write from future Toushirou's perspective, probably because I don't know what it would be like so I can't put myself in his shoes, but I try - thanks for the advice XD

Lady Queria: Happy Birthday for Saturday! Isn't it great that our birthdays were so close together? I could have dedicated the chapter to ou for your birthday for being such a great reviewer instead of doing the selfish thing and dedicating it to myself - if only I'd known. What would you say if I told you there would be no conflict between present Toushirou and future Toushirou? (I hope this isn't a spoiler, but there will be, so don't worry XD) I **could** tell you what type of time travelling story it is, but I'm afraid I'd have to kill you. But seriously, I'm leaving that for later so people can be like "wow, it's that type of time travelling story? she must be genius for being able to put it all together like that! I'm she didn't tell us what type it was earlier so I was completely surprised when I read it" that's exactly what everyone will be like. As an off note because you mentioned it first but don't you just love the new startrek movie? I know I do! But anyway, back to the reply, thanks for the great review, I love hearing fom you XD

RmfD, HevenSentHellBroken, Ziya Hitsugaya, Sapphire Insanity, snake and crane, Millie M. Banshee, soupcan and Kawaiikitsune-hime13: thanks for all your wonderful reviews, hope to hear from you all for this chapter (hint, hint)


	14. Chapter 12

Hey everyone! Well, here's the next chapter, sorry it took so long to put up, but hopefully its length will make up for the length of time I took :) Thanks to all those awesome people who reviewed the last chapter - it seriously makes my day to read all those reviews XD Oh, almost forgot - OVER 100 REVIEWS, you guys are amazing XD

* * *

Chapter 12

Toushirou cracked open one bleary eye, willing the world to come into focus. However, no matter how hard he tried, the white remained in his vision. Slowly he brought one sluggish hand around and placed it on the ground, sharp pins and needles shooting about under the skin in protest. With a soft groan he withdrew his arm and let it drop back to his side.

He was currently lying on his left side with his left arm trapped underneath his body. He couldn't feel his entire left side or his face, and what he could feel through the numb haze of his right side was painful pins and needles, hinting at the lack of blood flow under the skin. He had scrunched his eyes shut after his first poor attempt at opening them and decided that he would be quite content just staying where he was – at least it was soft. After what felt like only seconds, but were in reality more like minutes, Toushirou figured he should try to get up again, and with an almost super-human effort he rolled onto his stomach with a groan and placed both his hands on the ground to give himself enough leverage to heave himself up onto his feet.

The first attempt was a major fail as his elbows collapsed before they had managed to straighten themselves out, and it wasn't until the third or fourth try that he was able to push himself out of a laying down position. From there it didn't take much to rise to his feet, though he didn't know if he was standing on them because he couldn't feel them, which was a bit worrying to say the least. Very slowly Toushirou pried open his unresponsive and heavy eyelids to take in his blurry surroundings. Everything was white, and it took him long seconds to remember that he was outside in the snow. This realisation made everything make sense – the white, the numb feelings and pins and needles caused by lack of blood flow which had in turn been caused by the cold weather.

Running a hand down his arm he noticed that he was covered in a fine layer of snow, meaning that it had snowed sometime during the night, and his clothes were still wet from sleeping in the snow, the frigid temperature not allowing them to dry. The light reflecting off the iced over lake – which had seemed so peaceful and relaxing the night before – was now brutal with the aim of destroying his retinas with the blinding light. Raising a groggy hand in a pathetic attempt to block the light Toushirou tried to force his slow mind to remember why he was out here in the first place, but coming up with no answer. What he did find out however was that he had a splitting headache – like the ones he used to get from Matsumoto, only ten times worse. And on top of the headache his throat felt completely raw, as though somebody had taken a piece of sand paper and scraped his throat with it – not a pleasant feeling.

Just breathing in the extremely cold air aggravated it to the point where he felt like not breathing at all – which wasn't really an option. A small breeze blew across the grounds, passing through his wet, thin cotton shirt and he shivered; he actually shivered because of the cold, small goose bumps appearing on his skin. Blackness ate at the edges of his vision as he swayed slightly on the spot, confused by these strange sensations he was feeling. Blinking rapidly, Toushirou was finally able to fend off the blackness and combat the growing nausea that was growing with the declining vision. After a few deep but painful breathes he was able to walk back towards Hogwarts castle with the aim of changing into something dry.

When Harry had woken up that morning he had felt in a strangely good mood; a mood that he had no explanation for. It was as though everything was right with the world, but upon realising that that was completely stupid his mood declined slightly, but not enough to affect him much. With an almost skip to his step Harry had walked down to the Great Hall for breakfast, meeting up with Ron and Hermione on the way.

Because of his good mood he didn't see the puzzled looks sent over his head between Hermione and Ron, nor hear the whispered conversation about why exactly he was so happy. In fact, in Harry's mind it wasn't even really him who was happy, but more somebody else was happy and the lingering effects had moved over to him – but Harry wasn't aware of that. It wasn't until potions, the second class of the day, that he started coming down from his giddy high. Probably because the dungeon was such a depressing place.

"Hey Harry, what was up with you this morning?" Ron lent over to his friend, attempting to keep his voice low so that Snape would be unable to hear them. It was only just five minutes into the lesson, but one thing they knew about Snape was that he had silence the whole lesson, with no quietening down period at the very start of the lesson.

"I can't really say Ron, I just felt so... happy and I don't know why."

"You must have had one hell of a dream mate!" Harry grinned at that, shaking his head slightly as his eyes skimmed the classroom. He had noticed the absence of the white head of hair for the last three days, and also during breakfast and herbology that morning. Harry wondered how long Toushirou planned to be away from class, and just where was he? _He's probably not even in Hogwarts – maybe he's even giving his report to Voldemort!_ That thought was instantly shot down when a knock was heard at the door, and after a 'come in' from Snape the door swung open to reveal the object of Harry's current thoughts.

"Sorry for being late Professor." Toushirou moved to sit down and Snape just frowned as he looked at the small student. He didn't know if Toushirou was aware of it or not but he looked much too pale, and also a bit flushed, with hints of red ringing his eyes. In summary the boy looked unwell.

Harry, too, had been watching Toushirou, and he noticed with mild shock the fact that the boy was wearing a school cloak – and not just a cloak; Harry could see a school jumper underneath the cloak as well. _Isn't he overheating?_ If it had been anybody else Harry would have thought they were dressed normally, but for the ice prince, lover of all things cold, to be dressed so warmly something must be extremely wrong.

However, Toushirou seemed to be oblivious to the watching eyes as he struggled to remain focused, and more importantly, awake during the lesson. He didn't know why he had even bothered to come to class today but he knew that he needed to keep a close watch on Harry, because lately he had been neglecting that task. Thankfully his little sleep in the snow had made him remember his priorities, even if it had left him feeling under the weather. He had no idea what was wrong with him, or why he was feeling this way because he had never felt like this before, but hopefully if he just ignored the feelings they would go away – he didn't like feeling so... helpless.

He had to really concentrate that lesson on not making any mistakes, though his shaky hands made it extremely hard to continue to take measurements accurately. Along with the strange feelings inside his body, Hitsugaya's thoughts were also in a whirl of jumbled confusion. Last night his emotions had been allowed to run rampant in his body and he was still feeling the lingering after affects, so much so that he could almost feel the pressure building up behind his eyes and increasing his headache ten-fold.

Now that his tightly held leash had been removed he was having a hard time reigning them back in, even though it was a necessity. However, as he remembered his thoughts of the previous night – of the memories he had of those he was close to, and more specifically the memories he _didn't_ have, or couldn't remember – it had caused an emotion to swell to the surface; an emotion which had always been present, yet had forced aside as part of his mission. The emotion, so strong and potent, was hate.

Hatred swelled through his very being, so much so that he was almost literally seeing everything with a tinge of red, and he knew the cause for that hatred – Harry Potter – and if he couldn't put a stop to the destructive emotion and soon his entire mission would be compromised. With a groan of frustration Toushirou raked his hand through his hair, forgetting his surroundings completely as he, for the first time since at Hogwarts, lost himself in the tide of his thoughts.

Hermione had been watching her friend closely since he arrived late to class, and she had been quite put-off that he hadn't sat next to her like always did. However, she forgave him because it was obvious his thoughts were miles away today, and she also thought he looked very pale. She watched in worry as he looked to be having trouble measuring out his ingredients, but she resolved herself to just watching him so as not to draw any unwanted attention his way – though, she was surprised that the normally calm, collected person who could hide their thoughts as easily as they could breathe was displaying such obvious signs of frustration.

Something was definitely wrong and she could only hope that he would come and tell her before the day was out. Snape was on the prowl that lesson, looking over at potions and making a disgusted face before moving on – sometimes even stopping to make a snide comment here and there. It was nothing unusual, to say the least. However, as the teacher came to Toushirou's potion he looked at it in mild surprise. It was no secret that, even though Toushirou was a Gryffindor, he was one of Snape's favourite students just because he was literally _the_ best at potions. At first she had been jealous, but as time wore on she realised that he deserved Snape's respect because of how smart and good he was.

But now, as Snape looked onto his favourite student's cauldron, a small smirk went briefly across his face, because no matter how much he liked the white haired boy the fact of the matter was that he still was a Gryffindor.

"Mr Hitsugaya, definitely not one of your finer works. Tell me, did you follow step four on the board, or could you not see over the people in front of you?" The obvious jab at his height was noticeable, and normally he would brush off the comment and ignore it – which is what he did best. However, as Hermione had already noticed, today wasn't a normal day, and at the comment the surrounding air temperature dropped slightly as Toushirou levelled Snape with one of his infamous glares.

"Yes, _sir_, I did follow step four which said to add three levelled tablespoons of powdered horn of bicorn. If you would have noticed _sir_ I did that, however, I accidently added three _heaped_ teaspoons instead." The contempt dripped from his words every time he used the word 'sir' and Hermione winced at his cold tone. Something was _definitely_ wrong – she had never heard him speak like this before. Apparently Snape didn't like his tone either.

"Ten points from Gryffindor. And next time I hope you think very carefully about how you speak before addressing me. This potion is utterly useless; redo it." With that Snape was gliding away to his next victim, only swishing his wand behind him to rid Toushirou's cauldron of its contents. Toushirou sighed in frustration as he set about restarting.

He was not having a good day, and people seemed to realise this and so gave him a very wide berth when walking, so as not to do anything to warrant them receiving the 'glare of death' as it had been named. It didn't help one bit that his mood was deteriorating as the day wore on; the blood in his head beating a constant beat on his skull, serving to increase his headache which bordered on migraine. He was sitting eating his lunch – well more like glaring at it and wondering whether it would stay down if he did eat it – when a very brave person decided to make conversation with him.

"Hey Toushirou. You know if you put it on your fork and then in your mouth it will be a lot easier to eat, rather than if you just sit there and glare at it." Toushirou lazily turned his head to look at Hermione, the cold look of indifference still on his face, though it did warm slightly when he saw it was her talking to him and not somebody else. He 'hmm'ed in greeting.

"Yeah, well, I'm deciding whether or not I'm actually hungry."

"You should be hungry – I didn't see you at dinner yesterday or breakfast this morning. Frankly Toushirou you look kind of sick, what have you been doing?" When she said kind of she really meant very; his face had become more flushed since the last time she had seen him and his eyes also had a slightly glassy appearance, as though they could shut right then and there and send him into a state of sleep. He didn't answer in words, just shrugged his shoulders before looking back down at his food. Hermione sighed at his lack of acknowledgement of his condition.

"Why didn't you come to Hogsmeade the day before last?" Toushirou's brow furrowed as he tried to think of why he needed to be there. All the days seemed to be blending together lately, and if somebody came up to him and asked what day it was today he would honestly have no clue. Though, they only went to Hogsmeade on Saturday, and if what Hermione said was true, then it was Saturday two days ago, making it Monday today. But he definitely remembered sleeping under the tree on a school day- Friday maybe? That meant he had been out in the snow for an extremely long time. Hermione saw his confusion and sighed – it wasn't like him to forget something, especially not something like this.

"The meeting for Harry's new defence group. Actually, now that I think about it you may not have gotten the memo since nobody had seen you since you skipped the rest of Friday's lessons after Divination. In that case, the first meeting is today after dinner – I'll take you to where we're meeting. Oh! I just remembered that I need to pick up a book from the library so I'll see you in class." She was gone so fast that he couldn't reject her offer to join the group, even though he was partly responsible for it getting made in the first place. When had Harry even agreed to it in the first place? Pushing away from the table he walked out of the room to take a quick nap in the dormitory – not that he would ever tell anyone what he was going to be doing.

Harry watched Toushirou make his way out of the hall leaving his lunch untouched. To him the boy looked sick, and Harry had nearly been fooled into feeling sorry for him and starting to doubt himself. However, that didn't last for long when his mind worked out the dastardly charade that Hitsugaya was playing. He had worked out that it was his plan all along to make him feel sympathetic for him and think that he was actually sick and then **bam!** He would strike, like the cunning snake he was.

But no, Harry was way too smart to be caught in such an obvious trick – he knew that the boy was just faking an illness, no matter how skilful said act was. He definitely was a crafty one – Harry would have to be on the constant look out for his tricks now that he knew the boy was capable of them. Luckily he would have the meeting later that day to take his mind off his current problem; Toushirou hadn't come to the meeting which meant that he no interest in joining, which was lucky for Harry – he had enough problems as it was without having to worry about Voldemort hearing about their extracurricular activities. As soon as lunch was over his mind was already looking forward to the end of the day, when he could finally just relax and do what he loved.

For the rest of the day Harry would keep getting the distinct feeling that he was being watched – and not just by anyone either, but by someone who hated him a lot. But every time he turned around to see who it was he would see nobody even looking his way, too busy concentrating on the lesson. It was annoying to say the least, and it was making him tense as he wondered why somebody hated him so much. And then he figured it out – he could almost laugh at his own stupidity! Who else could it possibly be? Never mind that he had plenty of enemies, and people who hated him because of the newspapers, there was only one possible person in his mind, and he was not going to give in to their petty game and acknowledge him. Though, this did confirm his suspicions about Toushirou – the boy couldn't go forever without showing his true colours, and Harry had a feeling that he was seeing them now. Score one for him.

After dinner came and went, Harry was more than ready for teaching some defence against the darks arts to people who actually wanted to learn something more than what that old toad Umbridge was teaching. Harry still hadn't forgotten about his detentions with Umbridge, and just thinking about them made the back of his hand itch. When he got to the Room of Requirement – which is where they agreed to hold their meetings – he was pleased to find himself the first one there, which gave him enough time to mould the room into what he wanted. Slowly people started to arrive, and the odd new face would show up and their name would be written down on the jinxed parchment so that their secret couldn't be spilled. Harry waited patiently at the front of the room as he looked around at the faces of people he knew, and faces of those he didn't, waiting for one more familiar face before he could continue. Ron had been one of the first people to show up, but still Hermione had yet to arrive, which was slightly baffling as he thought she would get here at the same time or before him.

Harry was just getting impatient – and he could tell everyone else was as well – when the door opened again and Hermione walked through, practically dragging someone along behind her. When the two people were in the room she closed the door and walked over to Harry's side, leaving Toushirou to stand awkwardly in the doorway. Nobody thought it weird that the white haired boy was there because he usually hung around the golden trio on a regular basis – however, Harry was beyond angry that he had decided to turn up. This was his class! Suddenly all thoughts of a relaxing evening vanished as he realised that he could turn the tables on the devious boy. He was better at defence against the dark arts – or so he believed – and so would easily whip the boy into shape with a little pain as well; completely unintentional of course.

"Toushirou, I didn't realise that you were going to come; you weren't at the Hogs Head, but now that you're here you need to sign this so that you don't mention this group to **anyone**." Harry's smile didn't fully extend to his eyes, and Toushirou would have had to be an idiot to not pick up on the hostility emanating from his counterpart. Toushirou accepted the quill with an equal amount of false smiling and hostility, and the air in the room became thick and tense, as though everybody could see the fight about to ensue. Though, if that's what they wanted they would be disappointed as Toushirou gave the quill back after signing his name and standing back a few steps so Harry would have room to teach. Harry looked around at everyone again, and the sudden appearance of Toushirou clogged his previously clear throat so much so that it was hard to talk – what if everything was repeated back to Voldemort?

"Well, this is the place we've found for practice sessions, and you've – er – obviously found it ok." He cleared his throat; it wouldn't do to look uncomfortable in front of all these people who were depending on him.

"I've decided, um, that the first course of action is to choose a name." He was glad he was starting to sound more confident now. The Weasley twins grinned at each other, thinking up all the names that they could and that would be too inappropriate as names. Everybody else started to shout out ideas, and Harry could only pick out the odd one here and there.

"Anti-Umbridge League!"

"Ministry of Magic are Morons Group!" Hermione frowned at that one and Fred ducked his head in laughter as she glared at him.

"The Defence Association!"

And so and so forth, with no good name coming forth. Harry sighed, and Hermione placed a hand to her head as she listened to the noise. They needed some sort of order to be able to hear everybody's ideas otherwise nothing would get down. Gradually he noise died down as people noticed the lack of a decision being made, and the frustrations of Harry and Hermione – Ron had been part of the noise and so looked guilty as he too quietened down. Hermione cleared her throat to get the attention of the room.

"Now, does anybody have a **sensible** suggestion?" There was a few minutes of pause where nobody dared to answer, and then Toushirou hesitantly put up his hand, ignoring the intense glare from Harry and the curious gazes of those around him.

"Ah, Toushirou, what's your idea?"

"Well, I was thinking..." He seemed to have a small debate with himself for a second, and Harry refused to look at his indecisiveness lest it be another trap.

"What about 'Dumbledore's Army' because that's what the Ministry of Magic are afraid of most – that Dumbledore would get together an army to oppose them. It could be DA for short and for use in general conversation, and if questioned you could just pass it off as DADA." Everyone was quiet as the idea was mulled over, and then there was a great deal of appreciative murmuring and laughter at the idea. Soon it was voted on and agreed on, and Hermione wrote the name at the top of the list of names before pinning it up on the wall. Harry clapped his hands for attention once more.

"Right, now on to what we're all here for. I was thinking that we should start with the basics first and then work our way up to the harder spells. And so, we'll start with the disarming spell, _Expelliarmus_. This is taking it right back to the beginning, and I know it may seem very basic to all of you, but it's a useful spell to have-"

"Oh, please," said Zacharias Smith, a boy that had given Harry grief about his story in the Hogs Head – he didn't particularly like the boy, but it was necessary to put up with him if he wanted to stay in the group. "I don't think _expelliarmus_ is exactly going to be helpful against You-Know-Who."

"If you don't know the basics then you know nothing, but if you think it's beneath you then by all means leave." The two entered into a staring contest, neither backing down, until Zacharias broke eye contact and looked away, staying exactly as he was. Bad memories of the previous June invaded Harry's memories as he thought of the useful spell. Even though he hadn't used it against Voldemort, he had used it against a vast number of Deatheaters, and it had saved his life – if only it had been enough to save the life of Cedric Diggory.

"Ok, I reckon that we should divide up into pairs and practice. If you need any help then just ask me." There was a shuffling of feet as people picked a partner, and Harry kept his eyes firmly trained on Toushirou, who had yet to move to find a partner himself. Neither of them moved, and eventually everybody was partnered up and starting to practice except himself and the white haired boy, and he could feel his lips curling upwards into humourless grin – he would partner with the shorter boy, and show him just who he was up against. Harry sauntered over until they were face to face.

"Looks like you have no partner."

"I was just about to say the same thing to you."

Without any more words the two of them got into fighting positions as they faced off against each other. The tension rendered the air thick enough to be cut with a knife as their muscles got ready to dodge whatever spell the other would throw at them. Harry was confused and slightly scared at his opponent – also angry and betrayed, having started to like and trust him when he realised the truth.

Hitsugaya, on the other hand, could only feel hatred coursing through him, setting his blood on fire as his hand itched to kill Harry. It would be so incredibly easy, and not only would he make sure the future didn't happen he would also be getting a satisfying revenge. However, he knew that he couldn't do something so low – technically he hadn't done anything wrong yet. This boy was going to grow up and take away everything from him, but he was still innocent at the moment, and there was still the chance that he could be saved. After standing for what seemed like an eternity Harry finally made the first move.

"Expelliarmus!" The spell shot out of the wand at speeds he didn't think capable, but it was no problem for him – Harry may be good, but he was nowhere near as good as he was going to be. Hitsugaya dived to the side and rolled before snapping back up to his feet and retaliating.

"Expelliarmus!" His spell was equally as fast, and equally as damaging, though he wanted so much to use a different spell – but they were practicing expelliarmus. Harry dodged as well, albeit a little less gracefully, but it still missed. The two fired back and forth, not pausing for even a second in their spell firing and dodging.

Everybody else had long stopped practicing and were standing at the edges of the room in fear of being caught in the cross fire. The amount of force being thrown into each attack made the people wonder just how much it would hurt to be hit by it. Harry dodged out of the way of another attack and pointed his wand at the ground at Hitsugaya's feet.

"Expulso!" The ground exploded upwards, sending debris flying. Toushirou could only muster a surprised look at Harry before he was flown backwards into the wall, unable to do anything else unless he wanted to out his secret of being a shinigami. Toushirou slid down to the floor, feeling the headache – which had been growing all day – explode into something indescribable with mere words. All the members of the group started to surge forward towards Toushirou, while throwing Harry dirty looks, but Hitsugaya held up his hand and they all stopped.

With a little effort he pushed himself to his feet, using the wall to steady himself so that he wouldn't fall down. Blinking away the patches in his vision he faced Harry, his hair falling down across his face so that his expression was unseeable. Getting a grip on his wand he raised his head and the look of anger, hatred and another emotion that nobody could put a word to were clear on his face; fire burning strongly in his eyes as he set his jaw in determination. That had been a low and underhanded tactic to change the spell that they were using, and it reminded him too much of General Potter for it to be a coincidence. Was there really any point in saving this boy? At the moment it looked like a very big no, and for now Toushirou was only living in the moment.

"Deprimo." The spell was uttered in a low voice, rather than the shout he had before, and it was laced with so much coldness and ice that Harry started to feel physically cold. It didn't help that temperature seemed to have dropped drastically. Hitsugaya's spell sent a wave of power wind towards Harry, and the raven haired boy could only just get out of the way before it crashed into the wall, creating a very large hole that, thankfully, didn't go all the way through the wall. Harry's eyes widened when he saw how much damage it caused, and he had no doubt about whether it would have killed him or not. However, he didn't have enough time to contemplate over it because Hitsugaya was raising his wand again.

"Impedimenta." Harry felt himself being pushed backwards into the wall, arm lurching to the side with a sickening crack. After that neither of the boys could think straight. A whole manner of curses and spells were thrown at each other, with the opponent either dodging or blocking, and both of them had received numerous injuries. The onlookers watched with a mixture of awe at the display of power, and fright because both of them seemed intent on killing the other.

Suddenly Hitsugaya threw his wand down and talked Harry around the middle, sending them both flying into the ground, with Hitsugaya – being the lighter one – landing on top. Toushirou immediately started to throw punches at Harry's face, satisfied with the crunching sound his fist made every time it hit bone. Blood was pouring down Harry's face, and he had a sneaking suspicion that his nose was broken, but it didn't stop him from bucking his hips to throw Hitsugaya off him. Because of the change in balances Toushirou fell to the side and immediately rolled out of Harry's reach before getting to his feet, only to see that Harry had done the same. They then ran at each other, kicking, punching, and hitting any way they could.

Harry's attack pattern was extremely random, however, Hitsugaya – being a seasoned fighter – was thinking about every attack a split millisecond before making them, making his technique more structured. Because of this obvious advantage, Hitsugaya started to gain the upper hand, despite his smaller size, and with a swift knee to the stomach forcing all the air out of his lungs, Harry fell to the ground. He struggled to get up and Toushirou watched him with cold eyes as he tried and failed, until eventually he was on his feet again, standing shakily. His eyes were just as cold as his opponent's, but they lacked the bite of ice that accompanied Toushirou wherever he went.

It seemed like the brawl was over in the eyes of the onlookers, but Harry surprised them by kicking out and clipping Toushirou in the shin. Suddenly they were at it again, but Hermione had had enough. With a quick spell both of them were forced backwards away from each other, reduced to a glaring match.

"You're 15, not 5! Grow up!" Hermione knew that Harry wasn't capable of killing anyone, not even Toushirou, but she knew that the white haired boy wouldn't even bat an eyelash at the thought of killing Harry, so she needed to neutralise him first. Walking over to him she jabbed him in the chest. She knew he would be able to heal himself, whereas Harry couldn't, so he needed to leave the room.

"You! I thought you were more mature than this, but it turns out I was wrong. Go cool off, now!" She pointed to the door, and with one last look at Harry, Toushirou was breezing out of the door, the cold air leaving with him. Turning to face Harry, she gave him the same disappointed and furious glare that she had given Harry.

"And you! You're meant to be the teacher here! Teachers don't end up in brawls with their students – and don't say he started it because from where I was standing it looked like you were both involved in it! Now if you say one word while I heal you than I will have hit you, do you understand me?" Harry nodded weakly; it was going to be a long night.

* * *

The creaking of the old house was lost on the people sitting in the kitchen. It was fairly late at night, but the Order of the Phoenix preferred to have meetings later at night so that the members who taught at Hogwarts would still be able to come. Currently they were all present with Dumbledore sitting at the head of the table and Sirius and Snape on either side of him. It was just a regular meeting, but Dumbledore had his new discovery to tell everyone about, though he would have to wait while other news was over and done with. After half an hour of discussing important business about Deatheater sightings around London, the conversation finally stopped and opened to the floor for any new news before they discussed the man issue at hand. Dumbledore cleared his throat instantly capturing everyone's attention.

"As you all know the day before school term started a man was found dead in an alleyway after police received an anonymous tip that there was something out of the ordinary there. Recently one of my contacts within the police department called me down to investigate the body... off the record because they had been on the case for weeks and weeks, but had still turned up nothing. To them the man shouldn't have even been dead – no poisons in his system, no internal injuries and no external injuries; he was in perfect health according to them.

When I performed a magical autopsy on the body I found something... unusual. As you all are aware that spell can only turn one of two colours – purple for poisons, and orange for spells. However, mine turned a very vibrant red, so there was no mistaking the colour. After some research and talking to Mildred I have still come up with nothing. The only conclusion I can draw is that this is a type of magic that we have never seen before – possibly concocted by Voldemort." He let the news sink in, and when it did there were looks of horror in the room. Fighting Voldemort with what they knew would be hard enough, but to fight against something they had no idea? That would be near impossible!

"What are we to do Dumbledore?" Mrs Weasley's voice was anxious and worried as she looked at the man who always had the answers. Unfortunately, Dumbledore looked worn and tired, the sleepless nights researching this showing clearly across his drawn features.

"I honestly have no clue Molly. All we can hope for is that we can figure this out before we have to fight against it." The mood was now sombre, and Sirius attempted a small smile, though it came out weak and closer to that of a grimace.

"Well, at least the prophecy's still safe – he can't do anything without it." This information served to lighten the mood, if only a little. The rest of the night was spent talking about tactics to use against the ever present threat of the Deatheaters and also about ways Voldemort could possibly get his body back – if they could think of them before he did then they would be able to prevent him from using that method. In the very early hours of the morning the meeting was adjourned to give the teachers enough time to sleep before the first class began. Everybody had stopped up and they were saying their goodbyes when Dumbledore started to speak again.

"Sirius, as this is your house I'll ask you." This immediately piqued his curiosity; his look served to invite Dumbledore to continue.

"I have a student at Hogwarts who has no home and nowhere to go for the holidays, and so I was wondering if you would be ok if he came here with the Weasley children, Harry and Hermione for the holidays."

"What's this boy's name?"

"Hitsugaya Toushirou." Normally he would just let the boy stay at Hogwarts – a few people did – but there was something about Toushirou that he couldn't quite put his finger on, and he would feel immensely better if the strange child was under the watchful eye of both Molly and Sirius.

"Sure, I don't see why not. The more the merrier!" Dumbledore smiled and thanked him before leaving for the journey back to Hogwarts – which with apparition didn't take nearly that long.

* * *

The next day both Toushirou and Harry appeared normal, with no hints of their violent fight the night before evident on their bodies. Hermione had done a great job patching Harry up, and Toushirou had flawlessly healed himself with kido after cooling down. He had allowed himself to lose his cool, and that was unacceptable. Though, he did notice that all the people who had attended the meeting the night before carefully avoided his eyes, as though he might just pounce on them.

At the moment he was walking outside towards Care of Magical Creatures, all rugged up nice and warm. The fight had done nothing to improve his headache, and today it was punishing him for his stupidity by throbbing ceaselessly. Also, his throat was so raw today that he didn't think he would be able to talk properly, and so he wouldn't even try. Normally he loved being outside – especially when it was so cold out – but today all he wanted to do was crawl back into his bed and sleep. Maybe he was, as Hermione put it, unwell, though he wasn't sure because he had never been 'unwell' before – shinigami didn't tend to get sick, and if they did it was only on very, very rare occasions.

When he reached Hagrid's hut he ignored all the strange looks he received about his choice of clothing; it was well known his love of the cold. Along with all the students present he also noticed that Umbridge was there as well and his forehead wrinkled in a frown. He didn't read a lot of newspapers, nor listen particularly hard at dinner when teachers spoke – and he never listened when Umbridge spoke – but he did vaguely remember hearing about her getting some position in the school – the High Inquisitor? – and it gave Umbridge the right to sit in on classes and evaluate them to see if they were good enough to keep their position in the school.

Turns out it was Hagrid's turn today. Umbridge was armed with a clipboard and a quill, and by the look in her eyes she probably wouldn't have anything good to say. Hagrid came trudging over through the snow, his face still covered in bruises – which Hitsugaya thought was strange because shouldn't they have healed up by now? The large man carried over his shoulder a cow, which, to Hitsugaya, looked as though it was only half dead because every time Hagrid moved it looked as though it twitched – though it was just it moving with Hagrid's movements. Umbridge wrote something down on her clipboard.

"We're workin' in her today." Hagrid cheerfully pointed towards the forest, and he saw a few people's faces turn white at the thought of going into the Forbidden Forest – it was forbidden for a reason after all.

"Bit more sheltered! Anyway, they prefer the dark." Hagrid's words did nothing to stop the rising fear amongst the students, and his keen ears picked up somebody saying "what prefers the dark? What did he say prefers the dark – did you hear?" It sounded oddly like Malfoy, and Hitsugaya smirked slightly at his panic; Malfoy had tried to make his time at Hogwarts hell – and failed – and he really didn't like the boy.

"Right, well, I've bin savin' a trip inter the Forest fer yer fifth year – thought we'd go an' see these creatures in their natural habitat. Now, what we're studyin' today is pretty rare, I reckon I'm probably the only one in Britain who's managed ter train 'em." They walked through the forest, trying to make as little noise as possible so not to disturb anything that was feeling peckish and thought that a group of students would make a tasty meal. The walk seemed to take forever, but it could have only been ten minutes, when they finally reached a clearing that was surrounded by trees so close together that the clearing appeared to be bathed in twilight rather than the bright sunlight, and there was also no snow covering the ground. Hagrid dropped the cow on the ground and beckoned for the students to come closer, which they did but very hesitantly.

"Gather roun', gather roun'. Now, they'll be attracted by the smell o' the meat but I'm goin' ter give 'em a call anyways, 'cause they'll like ter know it's me." Hagrid turned to face the trees and gave an odd shrieking cry, which sounded like the call of some monstrous bird. Nobody laughed; most of the people were too frightened to even make a sound. Hagrid continued to call out to the forest for another five suspenseful minutes, until Hitsugaya's attention was drawn to the trees to the side of them. A pair of white eyes stared blankly at him and as the creature came into the clearing he recognised it as the oddly beautiful creature that pulled the Hogwarts carriages.

It seemed to survey the class, which had yet to see it, before walking over to the cow and started to bite a bit off it. More of the creatures had arrived by now and were also starting to feed. Suddenly a girl screamed as she watched the strange horse-like creature feeding, and he almost snorted at her stupidity – everything needed to eat, there was no point screaming about it. Her face as white as a sheet as she pointed shakily at the cow, and others turned as well, their eyes going comically wide in surprise and fright. He didn't understand it, and he saw that there were a few other students he seemed to be thinking along the same lines as him. Hagrid beamed at the creatures.

"There's more than I thought there'd be. Now, put yer hand up if yer can see 'em." Hitsugaya watched as a Slytherin put his hand up, Neville and Harry. Hagrid seemed to accept all of them as he brushed over them with his eyes, not at all surprised. Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes when over half the class didn't put their hands up, and so he wondered just what was so special about being able to see them.

"Yeah... yeah, I knew you'd be able ter Harry, an' you too Neville."

With a small sigh and feeling ridiculously stupid Hitsugaya raised his hand. Because it was after everyone else the action caught the whole class' attention, and he felt rather than saw Hagrid's surprised eyes bore into him.

"Is that righ' Toushirou? Hmm. Well, these here are Thestrals."

"What are Thestrals? What are you pointing at?" Toushirou couldn't pin point who said that, but it was starting to make him suspicious of the horses – why couldn't everyone see them? Was there some special trick, but if that was the case then what was that trick? He didn't remember doing anything out of the ordinary.

"But aren't Thestrals really unlucky?" Parvati was looking around in alarm, trying to spot what was impossible for her to see.

"They're supposed to bring all sorts of horrible misfortune to people who see them. Professor Trelawney told me once-" Hitsugaya was starting to feel uneasy; he'd already had enough misfortune, he really didn't need any more.

"No, no, no," Hagrid chuckled. "Tha's jus' superstition, that is, they aren' unlucky, they're dead clever an useful! Course, this lot don' get a lot o' work, it's mainly jus' pullin' the school carriages. An' don' worry – they won' hurt yeh. Righ', now, who can tell me why some o' yeh can see 'em an' some can't?" Finally the, mystery will be solved! Hermione raised her hand and Hagrid beamed at her, telling her to speak.

"The only people who can see Thestrals are people who have seen death." Hitsugaya's stomach dropped as the students started looking at the four who had put their hands up, and he was immensely regretting his decision to do so – people talked about him enough as it was.

"Tha's exactly right, ten points ter Gryffindor. Now, Thestrals-"

"_Hem, hem._" Hagrid looked up at Umbridge in surprise – so far she had been quiet while she wrote on her clipboard.

"Are you aware that the Ministry of Magic has classified Thestrals as 'dangerous'?" Hagrid chuckled.

"Thestrals aren' dangerous! All righ', they might take a bite outta yeh if yeh really annoy 'em-"

'Shows... signs... of... pleasure... at... the... idea... of... violence,' muttered Umbridge as she wrote it on her clipboard. Hagrid became noticeably flustered as he tried to backtrack.

"No – come on! I mean, a dog'll bite yeh if yeh bait it, won' it? Thestrals have jus' got a bad reputation because o' the death thing – people used ter think they were bad omens, didn' they? Jus' didn' understand, did they?"

Umbridge didn't answer as she finished writing whatever it was that she was writing, and then she looked up at him.

"Please continue teaching as normal. I am going to walk among the students and ask them questions." Her voice sounded like she was talking to a little child that had trouble speaking English. Hagrid was confused because he didn't know why she was doing it, but Toushirou knew why, and he didn't think it at all appropriate for one teacher to belittle another one in such a manner. He really didn't like Umbridge one bit, and he knew the feeling was mutual. Umbridge walked toward Pansy Parkinson.

"Miss Parkinson, do you find that you are... unable to understand Professor Hagrid when he talks?" Pansy looked like she was about to start laughing at the question, and that much was obvious in her voice.

"No, because... well, it sounds... like grunting a lot of the time." Umbridge wrote another note on her clipboard before smiling pleasantly and walking on to the next person. Hagrid was so flustered now that he was having trouble keeping his train of thought.

"Er, yeah... good stuff abou' Thestrals. Well, once they're tamed, like this lot, yeh'll never be lost again. 'Mazin' sense o' direction, jus' tell 'em where yeh want ter go-"

"Assuming they can understand you, of course," Malfoy said loudly. Apparently his previous fright about being in the forest had disappeared. Umbridge smiled indulgently as Pansy broke out into a fit of silent giggles. Toushirou saw with dread that she was starting to make her way over towards him, and he was silently praying to whatever for her to not talk to him. Unfortunately, everything hated him as she stopped in front of him.

"You can see the Thestrals Toushirou?" Her voice was thick with fake sweetness, and he couldn't help but cringe inwardly. He noticed that everybody was listening to the conversation, as though to get an insight into the mysterious student's life.

"Yeah, so what?"

"Who did you see die?" Her tone was indifferent as though she didn't really care, but he could see the brimming curiosity in her eyes. He gave a small wry smile before he could stop himself. The real question she should have asked was who _didn't_ he see die?

"None of your business." She made a small sound in the back of her throat before writing something down – what could she have possibly gotten out of those four words, other than that he liked his privacy?

"So, what do you think of the Thestrals?" As though hearing that they were being spoken about a few of the strange creatures looked up from the half eaten carcass, and one or two even ambled over to stand near him and Umbridge.

"There're like nothing I've ever seen before – a strange, but beautiful creature." Neville looked at him as though he had grown another head; obviously he didn't agree with his description of the creatures.

"It's ok to say that you're frightened by them – nobody will think any less of you." Toushirou narrowed his eyes; as if he would be frightened by such harmless looking creatures.

"I can assure you _Professor_ that I'm not frightened by them in the least. They're about as non-frightening as they come." As though to emphasise this point one of the Thestrals nudged his hand and he gave it a pat. He really did like the creatures; there was just something about them that reminded him a bit of home – probably because of the slight deathly aura they let off.

'Students... scared to... tell... the truth.' Another note went onto Umbridge's clipboard and Malfoy snickered at it – however, Toushirou was not impressed, and remained unimpressed as Umbridge continued to belittle Hagrid in the lesson. It was completely wrong of her to treat him like an idiot – they were fellow teachers, and should at least hold a little bit more respect for each other.

At the end of the lesson Toushirou hung to the back of the class before breaking off from the group to head deeper into the forest. It was lunchtime and high time that he got a bit more training done. Even though he didn't have his zanpakuto with him, he would still be able to practice kido; an art that he had gotten increasingly good at during the war.

"What are you doing Toushirou?" He didn't turn around as he heard Hermione's soft footsteps behind him on the pine needles. He knew that she had started to follow him as soon as he broke away from the pack, and if it had been anyone else he would have stopped and left the forest. However, he didn't need such secrecy around her and so let her follow him. Without turning around or stopping he answered her question.

"I thought I'd do some training with kido today." He didn't hear her make ay noise but he could just feel her disapproving his idea.

"What? What's wrong with practicing kido?" He heard a soft sigh.

"Nothing's wrong with it, but I just don't think you should do it today. You're still not at your best and kido takes a lot out of you if you don't give it your all." He knew what she was saying – even as they walked he could feel the dizziness setting in slightly – but he was stubborn, and nothing would make him give up his idea. He knew that she knew it, and that was why she was following him. When they reached a suitable place to practice they stopped and Toushirou started to go through the motions of each kido spell.

"Hado #31: Shakkaho!" A small, concentrated burst of red energy shot out towards the tree at the other side of the clearing, boring a small hole straight through the centre. For this training session he was going more for accuracy and control rather than power. Hermione watched him for what felt like forever go through various different kido moves, all offensive, when he suddenly stopped as his ears perked up. He had much better hearing than her, so it was no surprise that she couldn't hear whatever it was that he was hearing. Both of them remained completely still as Toushirou gazed into the darkness of the trees, and then he swiftly brought his right arm up, index finger pointing.

"Bakudo #1: Sai." Something crashed through the trees to land in a graceless heap on the ground, both its arms snapped up awkwardly behind its back. Hitsugaya kept staring at it for a second before his headache allowed him to tell that it was an arrancar. Taking a step forward he nudged it with his foot until it rolled over. However, it was stronger than it looked, and Toushirou hadn't put nearly as much power into the weak kido as he should have, and the things arms broke free to grab onto the small students ankle, sending him flying to crash into a tree.

Black spots appeared in his vision, and his throat exploded as it hurt to breathe. He was in no condition to fight at the moment, but he needed to protect Hermione. The arrancar seemed to sense that its prey wasn't at the top of his game, and so decided to take this advantage. While Toushirou was still standing up to his feet – albeit a little unsteadily – the arrancar rushed forward intent on dealing a killing blow.

"Impervius!" The arrancar felt itself being flung backwards away from Toushirou as the unfamiliar kido hit him in the side, literally repelling him in the opposite direction. Hermione held her wand out in front of her, her eyes set determinedly. Toushirou was always trying to protect everyone else, but now it was her turn because there was no way he could protect himself at the moment.

"Hado #31: Shakkaho!"

"Petrificus Totalus!" The arrancar felt its body go stiff as a board, not enabling it to dodge the much more powerful kido spell. He could tell that his victim wouldn't be able to cast again, so if he could just survive it this one time than he would be able to kill the small captain plus the annoying human girl. The kido hit him square in the chest, and he felt, rather than saw, a good portion of his chest disappear as the blood started to flow down. Looking at the wound he could see that his time was almost up, but, raising his spiritual power, he was able to break free from the binding spell that restricted his movements. He went to draw his sword – which really should have been drawn from the start considering who he was dealing with – but he was unable to as the female human raised her wand again.

"Confringo! Petrificus Totalus!" As soon as the spell hit the arrancar its skin instantly burst into flames. It shrieked in agony, but Hermione just turned her head so as not to watch as the creature slowly burnt to a crisp and unable to move. When the shrieks died down she carefully avoided it and walked over to Toushirou, who was clutching his head.

"You should see Madame Pomfrey – she'll get rid of that headache for you in a jiffy." Toushirou could only nod his head weakly and Hermione helped him to stand up, and they started to walk away from the arrancar's body.

"Hermione... thanks." It was obvious that it hurt to speak, but he felt as though he had to tell her that, so that she knew how grateful he was to her. She just smiled, not needing his thanks, but accepting them all the same. Even though it had felt horrible to kill that thing, she knew that she would do it all over again if she was ever put in that situation again.

* * *

"Miyaku! Status report, now!" An arrancar walked over to the leader – Saiyel – and lowered his head; it wasn't good news.

"Chizu ran off as soon as we arrived, saying he could smell the shinigami; I can no longer feel his reiatsu, so I believe him to be dead." The imposing figure of Saiyel spat out a profanity as he turned away from Miyaku. Chizu had always been a fool; impulsive and ready for a fight, he never stopped to think and follow orders – and that meant he was now down a member of his team. He had only had five to begin with, and now only four. He cursed again at his dead subordinates stupidity.

At the moment he had him and the remaining four men camped in a thick forest near on the school grounds near the castle. It was risky being so close, but he had some students referring to this as the 'Forbidden Forest' so he wasn't concerned about being spotted. Now, if only he could think of a plan. No matter how good his superior thought him to be, Saiyel knew he was no match for the short captain, and even if him all of his men engaged Hitsugaya Toushirou in a battle where it was five on one, the outcome would still be the same; they would lose. Meaning he needed to come up with a trump card, but unfortunately he had no idea where he would pull this magical trump card from.

As he sat in thought he heard a small rustle from not too far away. Frowning, he moved closer to the noise. It wasn't coming up as a threat, meaning it was probably just a wild animal, but whatever it was it sounded **huge**.

Saiyel swiftly walked through the trees until he came upon a small clearing. Looking at what sat in the clearing he couldn't help the evil smile lighting up his face in a demented glee. He had just found his trump card – and it was a **great** trump card.

* * *

"Taichooo! We've been here for hours!" Hitsugaya turned didn't acknowledge his lazy lieutenant – this wasn't the first time today that she had said those words. Ever since arriving back to Soul Society Hitsugaya Toushirou had so much work to do that he was almost literally drowning in it. For some reason people were under the impression that he _liked_ doing paperwork, but the truth was that he really didn't, it was just a necessary thing that needed to get done and the sooner he did it the sooner it would be finished.

But not only had he had to finish his paperwork like all the other captains, he also had to work out the mysteries that were happening in the World of the Living in Britain. This meant poring over document after document in the library. Matsumoto, being the fantastic lieutenant that she was, had volunteered to help him, thinking that it had to be better than paperwork. She soon found out how wrong she had been – but this didn't stop him from practically dragging her to the library every day.

At the moment he was trying to read a very small, difficult to understand book written in what seemed to be a very old version of the Japanese language. Concentrating was made quite hard when Matsumoto would whine every few minutes about how sore her back was, how the poor lighting was ruining her complexion, etc. He was nearing the end of his patience which, when around Matsumoto, always seemed to be a lot shorter.

"Taicho, shouldn't we call it a day – I promised Renji and Hisagi that I'd go drinking with them."

"Matsumoto, shut up now and read. I'm trying to concentrate, and you are making that very difficult right now." He took a few deep breaths to stop the vein twitching in his forehead – he would not lose his temper. That seemed to work, until she realised what time it was.

"Taicho, I really need to go do... uh, lieutenant stuff, I'm sure you'll be fine without me! Ja ne Taicho!" She jumped up and all but ran out of the building before he could stop her.

"MATSUMOTO!" He knew that her 'lieutenant stuff' as she so eloquently put it was drinking with the two lieutenants – she had just told him that, how stupid did she think he was? With a small sigh he continued to read; he'd probably be able to concentrate better without her there anyway.

After hours of reading and deciphering the book, Toushirou looked at what he had written – it was the entire book, just in easier to read writing. He read it, and then reread it incredulously, unable to believe what he was reading. The book spoke of magical beings and spells – not unlike kido – that were fired with the use of a... wand. The thought of using a piece of wood to attack was ludicrous, but the author of the book seemed to believe very much what they wrote. There was one interesting chapter, however, that spoke of the very place in Britain that he and his team had visited not too long ago.

The town was called 'Hogsmeade' and it was a magical town where wizards and witches resided. A little way away from the town was the magic school 'Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry' which was shielded from non-magical folk by a special spell – which would explain both why it had never been picked up their senses before and why it didn't show up on Mayuri's map, and also why Toushirou hadn't seen anything. _That must be the school those students were talking about to Matsumoto_. Gathering up all the important documents that pertained to magic, Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, Toushirou left to speak to the Sou-Taicho, knowing that he would be very interested in this new information, no matter how unbelievable it was.

* * *

Dumbledore carefully picked his way through the Forbidden Forest, stepping over the various bits of sticks, dirt and tree roots which jutted out along the path randomly. He had sensed the presence of a hollow in the school grounds, but it hadn't been repelled by Hogwarts security measures – much like that other hollow that Toushirou had encountered a few weeks back. As he reached the area where he had last sensed the hollow he looked on in shock as a burnt body lay on the ground.

Every year many of these creatures attempted to enter Hogwarts, but he had never seen one before, and he had definitely never seen one dead before. It looked almost human, except for the bone protruding from its shoulder blade, like a shoulder pad, and the hole which went straight through its chest below its neck. _That must be where the name 'hollow' comes from_. He knelt down beside it and nudged it to each side to get a better picture of it. He could tell that when it had been alive and unburnt it had had long, black hair, and it was obviously make from its build – that is if they had the same genders as humans. It also didn't appear to be that old, only looking to be around 21-22 under all the charcoal.

Whoever had killed this hollow had no mercy whatsoever, and what scared Dumbledore most was that it had happened on school grounds, which meant that it had been killed by one of the staff or students. He couldn't imagine anybody being so cruel and cold-hearted as to kill something so definitely, but the evidence that it was one of those people in his school was right in front of him. With a sad sigh Dumbledore withdrew his wand to perform an autopsy on the body, not at all sure of what he would find – and also a little scared.

With a soft mutter of the spell name his wand lit up in the familiar soft green light. Almost as soon as the light touched the body it changed colour to orange to indicate that a spell had killed this monster, but as he continued to sweep over the body his face went pale. Orange wasn't the only colour the wand was turning as he soon found out.

As his wand swept over the chest the colour would alternate between a soft orange and a very vibrant red – meaning that the same unknown magic had been used to kill this hollow. This also meant that the person, who was inside the school at this very moment in time, had also killed the man that Dumbledore had inspected, who had been killed the day before term started. Dumbledore stood up, brushing the dirt from his robes; the issue had just become a lot more serious – there was a killer loose in Hogwarts; a killer that was using a new kind of magic unknown to the world and was possibly a servant of Voldemort. They needed to be found and neutralised at all cost.

* * *

Unfortunately I just rebooted my entire computer system and so I lost all my emails, and that means all the reviews as well T.T I could just go to the reviews on the internet, but I'm an incredibly lazy person lol, so I'll just leave them for now, and I'll have to give everyone who reviews this chapter (hint, hint) an extra big thankyou. Except there is one person that I want to answer a question for, because that question has stuck in my mind and I think it's a very important one.

Nick: Question: why would Harry say that Voldemort is trying to regain his body after the Tournament but not after first year then? In both cases Voldemort was trying to regain his body but failed, as per your AU.

Answer: Because when Harry was in first year he still hadn't been that exposed to the wizarding world, and didn't fully understand what was going on. However, at the end of his fourth year he's older, being 14, and he's much more aware of the darkness of the world, of Voldemort and all that kind of stuff. Also, he couldn't not say anything when he brought back Cedric Diggory dead from the graveyard, and because the world seems to be becoming a much darker place with the returning of deatheaters, Harry felt that it was important to warn everyone that Voldemort returning as well was a likely possibility. Hopefully this answers your question, and if you have anymore don't hesitate to ask XD

Thanks again to everyone who reviewed, and that also goes for everyone else - if you have any questions just ask, 'cause I'm happy to answer them XD


	15. Chapter 13

I'm back with another chapter ^^ Sorry for the long wait, but good news - I've already started on the next chapter so there won't be such a long wait next time XD Hopefully I'll have it up by next week if I'm lucky. Thank you to all those wonderful people who reviewed, you just make my day. Anyways, this chapter is dedicated to the lovely reviewer Ziya Hitsugaya, whose birthday is soon, so happy birthday Ziya and I hope you enjoy the chapter ^^

* * *

Chapter 13

"Would you like some more tea Harry?" Harry shook his head, politely declining the offer. He sat at a small wooden table in the middle of a nicely furnished dining room, decorated in attractive silvers and blues. Sitting across from the scarred teen sat a man in a long black cloak, and his face was obscured in shadows, even though the rest of the room was overly bright, making it impossible to discern any features. However, in saying that, Harry's mind told him that he knew this man very well – even if he couldn't quite place a name.

"Now Harry, I'm fairly certain you know why you're here, but I just want to make one hundred percent sure that we're clear." Harry didn't in fact know why he was here – he couldn't even remember how he had gotten here, wherever that may be. However, he didn't voice these thoughts out loud, merely resigning himself to nodding dumbly as he got the definite feeling that he **was** meant to know the purpose of this meeting.

"Of course I'm aware of why we're here, but to clarify so that we have all the details one hundred percent, I think it would be best to go over them again." The man shifted slightly, and surprisingly the shadows did as well, aiding in keeping his identity secret.

"Of course. As you're well aware we've been having these meetings quite frequently, but I don't feel like we're making any progress on our overall goal; the only things we have seemed to have accomplished as a result of our little 'chats' is that you've become increasingly paranoid of your white-haired acquaintance – which is a good, positive step forward, but they aren't big enough steps." Harry frowned at the man's words – white-haired acquaintance? He knew who they were referring to but his mind wouldn't let him figure it out. He leant forward eagerly to listen. A sigh was heard from across the table as the man raised his china cup up to the shadow; he didn't seem very pleased at the moment.

"I can see the confusion on your face so I shall put it more bluntly; you have become increasingly more paranoid of Hitsugaya Toushirou." As soon as the name was said a veil seemed to lift from his mind, and suddenly memories of previous encounters with this strange, yet oddly familiar man, came rushing back into his mind.

"Toushirou he's... working for Voldemort!"

"That's correct Harry, good work." You could almost hear the smile in his indulgent words, as though he were speaking to a small child.

"And... he's also trying to kill me, right?" These were all things that he had decided on previously; things that he'd also spoken to Ron about.

"Correct again – you're on a roll. Now, Harry, what do we do with people who work for Voldemort?"

"We tell Professor Dumbledore and he'll take care of the problem."

"No Harry, we can't tell Dumbledore – remember? We don't want to worry him and make him think that you're not capable of handling a small problem on your own - he's already avoiding you because he thinks you're weak; you don't want to give him more reason to think that do you? You want him to be proud of you right? You want to show him that you're not a little child that needs to be constantly protected by those around you, correct?" Harry bobbed his head enthusiastically – this guy knew him well.

"Then you need to 'take care of the problem', as you so eloquently put it, yourself. The way I see it is that you need to 'get rid' of him before he 'gets rid' of you, if you know what I mean." It took a few moments for the meaning to sink in, but when it did Harry's face turned pale.

"Wait, are you saying I should... kill him?" The last two words came out as a high-pitched squeak as his voice broke – he'd never even thought of killing anyone before!

"You have to Harry – you're the Boy That Lived! Everybody looks up to you, and is counting on you to save them from Voldemort when he eventually rises back to power! That means that you can't let some mentally unstable, violent and unpredictable Voldemort spy kill you before you have a chance to save the world and all those dear to you." He had a very good point – if he was dead how would he defeat Voldemort?

"It's up to you Harry, but remember, one of those you hold incredibly dear to you is in the monster's clutches – his hostage so to speak – and you don't know if he'll hurt her if you leave him unattended any longer; you owe it to Hermione to protect her when she doesn't even know what grave danger she's in." Harry nodded slowly, taking it all in. It was a big ask, to ask him to kill someone, but if it was to save Hermione... He did owe her so much... She meant so much to him, like a sister...

"I'll do it." Because the shadows continued to obscure the man's face Harry wasn't able to see the evil smirk which adorned his features, nor the maniacal glint in his eyes.

"Good; that's my boy." The world seemed to dissolve into a mess of silvers and blues, and before Harry could react he felt himself slipping out of the strange room occupied by the strange man, and the next thing he knew he had soft pillows behind his head. Forgetting completely about the conversation for now, Harry drifted off to a nice, dreamless sleep.

* * *

"It'll be fun, I swear!"

"No, I already said no before – I'm not going to change my answer." Toushirou walked away from Hermione, who frowned at his retreating back before running to catch up with him.

"But-"

"There's nothing you can say that will change my mind."

"But why?" Toushirou sighed, but continued to walk. It had been a few days since the incidence in the Forbidden Forest, and his 'cold' (as he later found out it was called) was completely gone. He still couldn't believe that after everything he had been through – being burnt, stabbed, tortured, cut, slashed, hurt, frozen, poisoned, and anything else he wanted to add to the long, long list – he was weakened by a simple, and common, human ailment, and it had almost cost him his life.

"Because Hermione, I don't know those people – it would be awkward to say the least. Also, both Harry and Ron hate me which would only serve to make it more awkward and unbearable; I have absolutely no idea why I was even invited." It was Hermione's turn to sigh, and it was a sigh meant for little kids who were a bit slow on the uptake.

"You're my friend and you were invited because you have nowhere else to be in the holidays as you don't have any family to stay with. And no – before you even suggest it – you are not allowed to just stay at the castle because I won't allow you to be alone at Christmas time."

The holidays were fast approaching, which were the reason behind this little disagreement. The day before Hitsugaya had received, via owl, a letter from a person named 'Padfoot', but just as he was about to throw it in the bin as junk mail Hermione intercepted it and told him that Padfoot was an alias and that he should read the letter. In it was an invitation to stay at a Grimmauld Place for the Christmas holidays; apparently Hermione, Harry and Ron were going to be there as well. He thought it a bit strange as to why _he_ had been invited as he had never met this man, whom invited him, but Hermione said not to question it and she would later explain just who he was – she still had yet to tell him.

"What's so special about Christmas – it's just another day on the calendar?" A few students who were milling about in the halls all stopped to stare at him as though he had grown another head, and looking towards the brown haired girl he saw her wearing a similar expression.

"What?"

"How can you say that?" His answer looked as though it distressed her for some reason and he could only sigh in exasperation – Ichigo had reacted similar when they'd had the same conversation all those years ago.

"_How can you say that Christmas isn't anything special? It's a time to be with those you care about in a festive environment."_

"_You can be with those you care about any day of the week – the only thing you like about this holiday is that you get free things out of it." Ichigo shook his head sadly at the small captain, as though he pitied him._

"_Toushirou-"_

"_Hitsugaya Taicho."_

"_- Christmas is a time when all petty arguments and disagreements are forgotten to celebrate being with those you love and care about; to share your feelings with gifts and a festive and merry spirit. Sure, you can get presents – and they're usually pretty nice – but it isn't just about that. Christmas is about love and... the atmosphere." Toushirou wasn't sure he fully understood what the carrot top was trying to say – to him it just sounded extremely corny. Ichigo laughed at the intense look of concentration on his face as his brilliant mind tried to work out the concept behind 'Christmas', a holiday so unfamiliar to him._

"_Toushirou-"_

"_Hitsugaya Taicho."_

"_- you don't need to think so hard about it; just let the thoughts come naturally – go with what your heart tells you is right." A white eyebrow raised in incredulity. Did Ichigo just say that? He must really like this holiday if he was reduced to saying these things._

"_You sound like a total moron, you know that right?" A light smile was once again on the strawberry's face; a small, genuine smile which warmed his incredibly dark eyes._

"_You may think that now, but one day you'll understand and you'll think back on what I said and think 'that guy actually knew what he was talking about.'" Toushirou snorted in doubt._

"Toushirou!" Hitsugaya snapped his head around to Hermione, who was looking at him in concern.

"Are you ok? You just kind of zoned out on me there." Toushirou shook his head to get rid of the memory. _It's been a while Ichigo and your words make as much sense as they did on that day – I don't think I'll ever agree with you on this point._

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll think about staying at this 'Grimwauld Place', but I shall make no promises." And with that he walked off, leaving Hermione by herself in the corridor to get to class as they didn't have the same class this lesson. Hermione smiled; she knew that by saying those words that she was wearing down his resolve.

As Toushirou walked through the halls to divination, he bumped into Professor Dumbledore – the last person he thought he would see in this part of the castle. Their last meeting had been weeks and weeks ago, but it hadn't ended on a very good note, with Dumbledore even threatening to start digging into Hitsugaya's past.

Said boy immediately shuttered his face to all emotion so that it remained impassive and emotionless as he gazed curiously at the old man. Dumbledore's eyes twinkled with a strange light which would have made most people think that he was cheerful, but Toushirou's impression was that the old man was worried about something; the lines creasing the corners of his mouth and eyes attested to that fact.

"Ah, Toushirou, just the person I wanted to see." He gave a pleasant smile and the shorter boy looked at him wearily – if he had been looking for him it could mean nothing good.

"What would you like to see me about sir?"

"It's almost the holidays, so you've been at Hogwarts a good couple of months now and I just wanted to make sure that everything is going ok with you."

"Everything's fine sir; school has been good." _What does he really want to say?_ It was obvious that this wasn't why the teacher wanted to find him as he would have done this weeks ago had it been the case.

"I was wondering if you were going to be visiting family in the holidays – it is Christmas time after all; a time for families to be together." His eyes narrowed in suspicion at the obvious fishing, though this fish was way too smart to be caught on such on obvious line.

"Actually sir, Hermione invited me to stay at a friend's house with her in the holidays."

"So you would consider yourself very... close with Miss Granger?" He didn't think he liked the hidden implications that sentence could have, and so decided to choose his next words very carefully so as not to be able to have any second meaning construed from them.

"She is a... close and trusted friend."

"I see." He lapsed into silence for a moment before continuing. "If I may ask, but what is the name of this 'friend' the two of you will be staying with?" If he hadn't been watching Dumbledore's face carefully he might have missed the small flicker of curiosity and hope flare in his eyes, as though willing him to say the right answer. He wasn't sure whether he should answer the question or not as he hadn't decided whether he actually would stay with this 'padfoot' guy; but it would seem that he had already decided his answer just by lying to the Head Master, and so there was no backing out of it now.

"Just a guy that we... both know; we like to call him Padfoot as a nickname." Dumbledore smiled, and it was a genuine one which crinkled his blue eyes – Toushirou could see that he was pleased with the answer, though he had no idea why.

"I see... Well I hope you enjoy your holidays Mr Hitsugaya; you never know, I might see you while you visit your 'friend'."_What a weird conversation_, he thought in his mind as Dumbledore walked off, humming a little tune to himself. That man always struck him as being odd and not completely sane, and every conversation he had with him only served to cement that impression. Letting out a frustrated sigh as he continued walking to class he couldn't believe that he had just agreed to stay at some stranger's house – Hermione would be pleased though.

Divination was as useless and hot as always Toushirou soon found out as he leant back against the wall which was only mildly warm rather than burning hot. He didn't know why he continued to attend these classes as they weren't helping him in the slightest, but one look at the black hair a few seats away gave him his answer.

He hated Hogwarts; he hated going to all the lessons and he hated watching Harry's every move._ I don't want to be here anymore. I just want to go home..._ But where was home? It used to be Seireitei, but he could never return there; besides, after the war was finally brought to Soul Society the please had ceased to feel like home when he was separated from his comrades, peers and friends to fight a lonely war with whomever he saw passing by him on his side.

To belong somewhere... It was something his heart had yearned for so many years, and just as he found that place it had been forcefully ripped from him by Aizen and his evil minions._ Aizen..._ Just the thought of that name, the name of the evil mastermind and instigator, brought his blood to the boil and soon the already too hot classroom became even more unbearably hot from the heat of his anger and hate.

"Ah, Toushirou, let's see what your tea leaves tell us today." Professor Trelawney sat herself down next to him, picking up the tea which he had willingly drunk; she'd learnt early on that if she didn't keep pushing him in the direction she wanted he wouldn't do the 'useless' work, as he called it. They had long since moved on from interpreting dreams, and were now reading the soggy leaves at the bottom of the small, china cup; to him it looked like a soggy mess of wet, green leaves, but apparently he was wrong.

"Hmm... This is very interesting..." He resisted the urge to roll his eyes._ Does that mean I'm going to die?_

"Hmm, from the looks of it... you will find kindness and love from an unexpected source... and you will be hit with the revelation that... what you thought you knew is actually incorrect." She placed the cup down to gauge his reaction, and if he had been somebody else he might have looked surprised, trying to come up with _how_ she had gotten that from the soggy mess. However, he wasn't just _any_ person, he was Hitsugaya Toushirou, and so his face remained emotionless, even though he felt like hitting his head in frustration – this class was so useless!

"It would seem that you have some interesting things to look forward to in the near future."

"Yes, it would seem that way." It was clear that he wasn't going to say anymore, so Trelawney took it as her queue to move away and leave him be. Settling back against the wall into a more comfortable position Toushirou allowed his eyes to roam over all the students, until finally landing on Harry and Ron not too far away. They seemed to be in a heated discussion about 'Quidditch', a game he still wasn't entirely sure what the rules were, but he didn't need to know them as it would have just been needless information.

Listening closely, he was able to find out that Ginny, Ron's little sister, would be replacing Harry on the team, and he felt a very miniscule, childish smile tug at the corners of his lips; he'd heard all about how Harry had been kicked off the team not too long ago because of some fight, and it gave him a very odd sense of satisfaction to hear about it.

As he listened, Toushirou felt a strange tingling sensation against his leg, and he furrowed his eyebrows in confusion as his hand went into his pocket to see what strange object had suddenly grown warm. With a soft sigh his hand clasped around the gold coin which was used to decide when the DA's meetings were and he withdrew his hand to ignore it.

Since his fight with Harry he had stayed away from the little club in case he lost his temper again, and this would be the third time he had ignored the strange coin. Oh well, it couldn't be helped. He noticed a few people around the classroom seemed to be putting their hands into various pockets, and he didn't even have to guess at what they were doing.

Harry frowned as he and Ron spoke in hushed tones, under the guise of reading their tea cups. At the moment they were speaking about Quidditch – something he didn't particularly want to talk about – but for some reason his mind kept straying to other thoughts, thoughts which were cloudy and unclear, and undecipherable. Suddenly he felt the gold coin in his pocket grow warm, and he knew instantly what it meant; looking at Ron he could see the red head knew as well – Hermione was calling a meeting soon.

After a quick glance at the coin he saw that it was for next week, which meant it would be the last meeting before the Christmas holidays. He was glad that Toushirou had stopped showing up to the DA meetings, though he felt slightly bad because it was majorly due to the white haired boy that there even was a group set up – it was even Toushirou's name suggestion which they had went with. _No! You don't feel bad, that's what he wants you to think Harry! Maybe... Maybe he already knows that you need to kill him and is trying to put this doubt into your head? He is pretty intelligent, so I wouldn't put it past him..._

"Hey mate, are you ok?" Harry's head snapped around to look at Ron, to see the false look of concern on his traitorous face... _Wait! Ron's one of my friends, he's on my side! He isn't a traitor, why would I think that?_

"Yeah, I'm fine; it's just... a bit stuffy and hot in here is all." He forced a smile onto his face, hoping it appeared genuine, though not sure if it did. _But what if he is? He is friends with Hermione after all, and Hermione is __way__ too close to Toushirou... NO! Ron. Is. My. Friend! Hermione's my friend too... But... what if that white-haired devil has been feeding her lies about me? What if... she wants to side with him instead of me! What a traitorous bi-_

"Harry, you keep zoning out on me; are you sure you're fine? The lesson's just about over so we'll be able to leave in a bit."

"I'm fine Ron, can you just... can you just drop it?" Ron still looked concerned, but he slowly nodded his head in consent, and the matter was dropped.

After a few more lessons the two boys found themselves sitting at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, gorging themselves on food.

"Urgh, I knew that Ron was an absolutely disgusting pig, but I didn't expect it from you too Harry." Hermione slid in to sit beside Harry, and she looked at Ron with her nose crinkled in disgust as he opened his full mouth to say "what?" though it didn't sound anything like that. Harry had the decency to swallow his mouthful before addressing his friend.

"What are you doing here Hermione?"

"What do you mean? It's lunch time, so I'm here to eat lunch – as you normally do." She grinned as she spoke, and Harry felt an odd pang in his chest as he watched her – it was just like it used to be, with Ron eating disgustedly and the two of them talking. In summary, it was just the three of them being themselves, just like it used to be in the good old days before all this drama entered their lives. However, he couldn't let himself be sidetracked by his emotions.

"Don't you usually hang out with _Toushirou_ these days?" The contempt in his voice when he spoke the name was obvious, but Hermione didn't comment and instead just frowned slightly, as well as look a bit guilty. _And so she should._

"I'm sorry that I haven't been around much, and it is true that I've been hanging around Toushirou a lot, but it's because nobody else will; for some reason everybody seems intimidated by him and so generally give him a wide birth. How would you feel Harry if you went to a new school... no, a new _country_ where you didn't know anyone and no one wanted to talk to you? I know I'd feel pretty dejected, so I'm being nice and befriending him – like you were as well at one point might I add."

If she was trying to garner sympathy from him then she was failing, which was clear to see. Letting out a soft sigh of frustration Hermione smiled again, though it wasn't as open or as friendly as it had been two minutes previously.

"Listen Harry, I don't want to argue with you; you're one of my best friends and I want to eat lunch with you and my other best friend, Mr Pig over there, so let's not talk about Toushirou anymore, ok?"

"Fine by me; so have you seen Hagrid recently?"

Lunch seemed to flow by as the three friends reconnected and strengthened the weakening ties of their friendship, and by the end of lunch, time to go to another lesson, the three of them were laughing and joking again as though there had been no distance these last few weeks. Suddenly Harry remembered the DA meeting Hermione had called for next week.

"Hey Hermione, what's with the meeting next week?" Without skipping a beat Hermione answered his question, instantly knowing what he was referring to.

"I just thought it would be nice to have one last one before the Christmas holidays because we won't be able to see them for a few weeks because we're not staying at Hogwarts over Christmas."

"Good idea... Wait, where are we going to be?" Ron looked confused; not sure whether they would be at the Burrow or at Grimmwauld Place.

"We're not going to the Burrow," Hermione said, while shiftily looking around to see if anyone was listening to their conversation; it would be too risky to say the address of Grimmwauld Place out loud where anyone could hear. Comprehension dawned on Ron's face as he understood.

"Oh, ok." The rest of the week passed pleasantly for Harry, and he was able to temporarily forget his mission as Hermione, Ron and he stuck together; inseparable like they used to be. Harry wondered why Hermione was ditching Toushirou, but he didn't want to push his luck and ask.

* * *

"_I'm going to the academy tomorrow Shiro-chan; I'm going to be a Shinigami!" Toushirou sat on the steps outside his house, munching on the fresh watermelon with a sour face. Momo sat next to him with some watermelon as well, though hers wasn't as eaten as his. She sighed softly, correctly interpreting his silence._

"_Don't worry; I'll visit as often as I can."_

"_Don't bother, I don't want you here." The pout was almost unnoticeable, but it was still there, and Momo was about to comment on how 'cute' he looked at that moment when a barrage of watermelon seeds were spat at her at an alarming speed. Letting out a small screech Momo jumped up and moved to block the seeds until there were no more._

"_Shiro-chan! That was mean!"_

"_Don't call me Shiro-chan!" Momo laughed lightly, her eyes twinkling as she looked at him._

"_Why not? To me you'll always be my little Shiro-chan." Toushirou jumped up, and suddenly the scenery changed and he was standing atop a building in Seireitei, his shinigami uniform and captain's haori sitting on his shoulders. In front of him a fair distance away was Ichimaru Gin, his ever present smile securely in place, as he watched Toushirou. Between the two of them was a very distraught Momo, clutching a piece of paper to her chest as though it was her only life line to save her from drowning._

"_How could you?" Her shriek was the only warning he received before she was charging forward, sword raised to attack. He moved to block but his arms were suddenly unable to move and he could only watch as the sword wielded by his childhood friend drove into his stomach. His eyes widened in surprise – what was going on?_ This isn't what happened!

_Toushirou was released from his paralysis to fall forward into the ground, and as soon as he hit the ground the water splashed up around him, and he immediately swam to the surface so that he wouldn't drown. Shouts were heard near and far as the intense battle raged around him and he had to power stroke towards the land, because if he stayed in the one position for too long then he would be an easy target for the enemy. As soon as he reached the land he crawled up onto it, taking cover behind a blown up tank. He knew this battle – it was in one of those island countries in the Living World and it was between the humans and wizards. _

_Shinigami had been sent to help them – Toushirou included – as the wizards had the definite advantage with the use of magic. Also, the treaty the Sou-Taicho had signed with all the major countries in the Living World meant that they were obligated to help. A strangled cry was heard a few feet away before a soldier wearing a green uniform fell dead next to him. Toushirou jumped up into action, unable to sit idly by as innocents died. Jumping into the air at an oncoming enemy aircraft, he cleanly sliced it in two, and when he landed on the ground, his footsteps echoed in the large, empty hall. There was a slightly ominous feel in the room, as though evil itself had tainted the very air and essence. _

_Cautiously walking forward, his steps sounding thunderously loud, he came to a door which easily swung open with a light touch. All the other things he had remembered; had done before, but this setting was completely new – he had absolutely no idea where he was. As he walked he found himself in a corridor with no windows, but it was still cold. However, the cold was very unnatural and it made his skin tingle with the taint – this was no ordinary hallway. Coming to the start of another corridor he stopped as he saw he was no longer alone. At the end of the seemingly endless corridor sat a man who appeared to be trying not to fall asleep, and there was a strange hissing sound. _

_Pivoting on his heel Toushirou saw the largest snake he had ever seen in his life, though it didn't seem to have noticed him, and instead slithered right by him towards the man on the ground. The man didn't appear to see, or hear, the snake, which he found quite odd, and so he decided he should do something about it before someone was hurt._

"_Hey, get up, there's a snake!" The man no reaction to his words, so he could only conclude that either the man was deaf or he wasn't able to hear Toushirou for some reason or another._

"_Sir, get up! Snake!" Again, no reaction, but there was no time for a third warning as the snake struck, biting the man; its fangs sunk deep into the flesh distributing its poison into the blood stream. The man slumped forward as the snake retreated, tiny pin pricks of blood forming at the bite wound._

"_Well this is interesting to see you here. And who may I ask are you?" Toushirou spun on his heel to face the person behind him. The 'man', if he could be called that, didn't appear to be corporeal, in fact he seemed slightly transparent. His face reminded Toushirou of a snake, and the aura the man exuded was just like the one in the large hall which he had recently exited. _

"_What do you mean 'who are you?' Who are you?" The man chuckled._

"_Who I am is not important in the slightest, and I guess I don't really care who you are; all I want to know is how did you come to be in this dream – it isn't you dream." He didn't understand what the man was saying; his subconscious had already gathered that he was dreaming, though it was still a shock to his consciousness to hear it out loud, but what did he mean that this wasn't his dream?_

"_This _is_ my dream – I'm the one dreaming after all."_

"_I guess that is true... But no matter, it's time for you to leave. If I am correct, and looking around I can see that I am, the next location you were about to dream of is particularly traumatic, so I'll leave you to it." The man started to leave, his feet sinking slightly into the floor before solidifying enough to stand on the ground._

"_Wait! How do I get out of here?"_

"_You already are." Looking around Toushirou found himself chained to a dingy dungeon wall, and he knew instantly where he was – this had not turned out well the first time through. Just as the dungeon door slowly creaked open Toushirou felt himself being forcefully pushed from his dream world, and he made a memo to say thank you to whoever it was._

Jolting awake Toushirou looked around groggily as he gained consciousness.

"Ah, Sleeping Beauty finally wakes up." Toushirou glared at Dean who had made the comment before looking around again. Surprisingly everyone was up and awake – alert even! His internal clock was telling him it was only about 2:30 in the morning, so why was everyone awake? Actually, the better question was why was he awake?

"What's going on?"

"Harry had a dream last night." Neville spoke up, which surprised all the boys as the timid and quiet student rarely talked around Toushirou as he felt too intimidated to form proper sentences. Toushirou sighed and started to go back under his covers.

"Tell him to get over his 'bad dream' so we can all go back to sleep."

"He said he saw my dad being attacked by a snake." Suddenly the shorter student was sitting upright in bed. _No way, it's just a coincidence, right?_ Looking at Ron his eyes immediately went to the shock of red hair, so similar to the man in his dream.

'_how did you come to be in this dream – it isn't you dream.'_

That's what that man had said; what if it really wasn't his dream? What if he had somehow gotten into Harry's dream? But how – and what did that mean?

"Toushirou, are you ok?"

"Yes, I'm fine... it's just a bit hot and stuffy in here is all." Ron frowned at the familiar excuse – it was the one Harry had used in divination the week before. _Those two are so alike it isn't funny._

"Will your dad be ok Ron?"

"I don't know – he might not even be hurt; it was just a dream after all. Though, I'm surprised that you of all people slept through all the commotion." It was a well known fact that the boy was an extremely light sleeper. For some reason Toushirou didn't believe that it was just some dream – he knew that it had been real. How he knew that he had no clue, especially since he didn't believe in that kind of thing.

"Maybe..." His murmured response sounded half-hearted, and it was obvious that he didn't believe it. Were he and Harry so connected that he could slip into the scarred boy's dreams? Or was it something... else entirely? He had no idea what was going on, and it made him feel confused – something he didn't like feeling.

"Where's Harry now?"

"Dumbledore's office." It made sense – Dumbledore was the Headmaster of the school, and he also got the impression that the two of them were really close, based off what he had heard from various people. There wasn't really much else that they could do that night, so the only logical conclusion would be to go back to sleep, but suddenly Toushirou blanched at the idea of sleeping – what if something like that happened again? No, he would stay awake for the time being and wait this out to see what would happen.

After a few hours of sitting Professor McGonagall came for Ron before the two of them left in silence; and more waiting occurred.

* * *

Harry sat on the bed he owned at 12 Grimmwauld Place, his head cradled in his hands. After leaving the dormitory he had been taken to see Dumbledore immediately, where he was told to recite his story.

_Dumbledore sat behind his desk with his fingers steepled, half-moon spectacles resting half-way down his nose as those piercing blue eyes cut through him._

"_How did you see Arthur getting hurt?" He'd thought it had been a strange question, and he wasn't quite sure how to answer it._

"_I was dreaming and I saw the snake bite him-"_

"_No Harry, I believe that you misunderstand the question: what perspective of the incident did you have?" Harry's eyes widened – did he know something? The boy had felt guilty and terrible when he had woken up, because it was as though_ he_ had been the one to bite Mr Weasley, as though _he_ was the snake._

"_I saw Mr Weasley being attacked... through the snake's eyes." _

_He didn't elaborate, and he was glad of that as he heard McGonagall inhale sharply behind him at the news. Dumbledore, however, didn't look at all surprised, and Harry couldn't help but feel the anger rising in him. The man wasn't didn't even have the decency to look at him, instead focusing on a spot right before him. And now he didn't appear surprised or worried – Mr Weasley could already be dead for all they knew!_

"_How bad did Arthur look?"_

"_He's really hurt; there was blood everywhere." Dumbledore had nodded his head in that calm way of his, and Harry once more bit his anger and the sharp retort on the tip of his tongue._

Harry groaned softly as his hands slid up into his hair, tugging it slightly in frustration. He and the Weasley children had been whisked away to Grimmauld Place immediately while Mrs Weasley had gone to see to Mr Weasley, which meant that Harry had hours of sitting as sleep escaped him until the new day began.

Dumbledore had said that Hermione would arrive a few days before Christmas, meaning she was going home to her family for a few days after term finished, which would be in two days. He sighed again, his eyes sliding over to the sleeping form of Ron in the nearby bed. He'd told his best friend everything – including how _he_ had been the snake in the dream – but Ron hadn't seemed particularly concerned with Harry's role, instead just saying 'don't worry about it mate; you're the one who saved him'. These words did nothing to make Harry feel better.

He sat for literally hours just going over his dream again and again and again; it wouldn't leave his mind, and the feelings of guilt, sadness and pain tore him up inside, but he didn't know why it hurt so much. Sure, he'd dreamt of Mr Weasley being hurt, and he'd been the one holding the reigns so to speak, but it didn't explain this gut-wrenching, soul-tearing pain which he felt – he wished it would just go away. By the time the sun poked its head over the horizon line Harry felt positively terrible, his eyes laden down with bags due to his lack of sleep.

"You alright mate?" Ron sat across from him at the breakfast table – when he had gotten there he did not know – a worried and concerned look on his face.

"Yeah, I'm fine... Do you know if your dad's ok?" Ron nodded as he shovelled some food into his mouth.

"He'sh gonna be fine." Harry nodded slowly as he started to eat, glad for that positive answer. Suddenly the door opened and the one man Harry had been longing to see walked into the room, his scraggly black hair hanging around his face.

"Sirius!" Harry stood up and moved over towards his godfather to be drawn into a manly hug.

"Harry, how are you doing?" It seemed as though Sirius, too, could see the fragile emotional state Harry was in as his tone was low and soothing, very unlike his usual tone, though Harry didn't notice.

"I'm fine."

"Well, you won't be when you hear what you need to do today: the library upstairs needs to be dusted and it's your job." Harry groaned good-naturedly, his previous sadness and tiredness disappearing in light of Sirius's arrival.

The two days before the end of the Hogwarts term passed achingly slowly, but apparently Mr Weasley was making a very good recovery and they would be able to go visit him the next day – and if he continued with this rate of recovery then there was a big possibility that he would be home before Christmas.

Sitting at the dinner table that night the room was full with the members from the Order; it was a meeting night. Tonks sat next to Ginny, trying to make the girl laugh as she had been very quiet ever since they had arrived at the house, too worried about her dad to say much to anyone. Sitting beside Harry was Fred and Ron who, along with George, were conducted a conversation across the scarred teen, while said boy just listened in amusement. At the head of the table Lupin and Sirius were in a loud discussion about imps, with Kingsley Shacklebolt throwing his two cents in every minute.

To say it was a loud and happy affair would be a correct statement.

"Yeah, Dumbledore asked if the kid could stay here for the holidays – though I don't know why." The change in topic at the head of the table had Harry's ears perking up in curiosity; somebody else would be staying at Grimmauld Place for the duration of the holidays? It would have to be someone Dumbledore trusted with Sirius's secret – that he was hiding out here in this darkly lit house – but he couldn't think of who it would be.

"I must say I'm quite curious to meet him; his past, or lack thereof, intrigues me – I heard he was found in an alley." Suddenly Harry's skin went cold as he heard that statement, which brought a memory forth.

_ They'd just found out that Hagrid had returned from his extended trip, and so the four friends – Harry, Hermione, Ron and Hitsugaya – found themselves trekking through the snow to meet with the half giant._ _When they reached the door of his hut they knocked loudly until the large man in question opened his door up._

" '_Arry, 'Ermione, Ron, it's great ta see ya guys! What'cha been up to?"_

"_It's good to see you to Hagrid; Care of Magical Creatures just hasn't been the same without you there. Where have you been?" Hitsugaya stayed by the door as he locked eyes with the most massive dog he had ever seen in his life. They seemed to be having a staring contest. Meanwhile, Harry, Ron and Hermione had taken a seat at the large table._

"_Well, now I'd love ta tell youse, but..." His eyes rolled over in Toushirou's direction as the boy continued his contest with the dog._

"_Who's ya friend?" Hitsugaya finally broke eye contact to look at the enormous man._

"_Hitsugaya Toushirou, I'm new this year." Hagrid seemed to be thinking something over, and then a little light bulb went off in his head._

"_Ahh! Ya tha' alley kid tha' Tom found outside his pub, aren't'cha? And then Dumbledore met ya at St Mungo's, yeah I remember him tellin' me 'bout you." At his words Harry, Hermione and Ron looked at Toushirou with wide eyes. They didn't know much about his past or his origins (except for Hermione), but they had assumed that he had come to England with his family. Harry frowned, _found in an alley, and he only met Dumbledore at St Mungo's? That couldn't have been too much sooner than the start of the Hogwarts term, which means that Toushirou must have skipped a lot of red tape to be able to go to Hogwarts. _Hitsugaya coughed and smiled slightly._

"_Yes, I do suppose that would be me. But anyway, don't worry about me, I won't tell anyone where you've been so you can just continue with your story. Just pretend I'm not here." Hagrid looked at him distrustfully._

Hitsugaya Toushirou, the boy with no past or origins, the boy... which had been found in an alley! _No, Sirius can't be talking about Toushirou! He just can't... But if he is then Voldemort will find out about the Order! I'll need to inform Dumbledore about this right away – oh, how could I have been so stupid as to keep this knowledge to myself!_

A small 'pop' was heard in the entrance hall outside the dining room, and soon two sets of footsteps were heard, though the second pair were so faint they might as well have been not there. Harry only knew one person with light footsteps such as that. The door swung open slowly, creaking as it did so, until Professor Snape walked through stiffly, his face set in its permanent sour frown of displeasure.

Harry could feel the blood pounding in his ears as he watched the door for an eternity, but in reality what was only mere seconds, saying the mantra in his head, 'Please not him, please not him, please not him,' over and over again. As soon as Snape had cleared the doorway the lighter footsteps moved forward and through the door to admit Hitsugaya Toushirou, in all his glory.

* * *

The Senkaimon opened in Britain a little ways away from where it had opened last time. Out of the glowing doors stepped Hitsugaya Taicho, his white haori fluttering in the small breeze; his lieutenant was right behind him, staring out across the lovely green fields briefly before becoming serious. After leaving the library the duo had went straight to the Sou-Taicho, and Hitsugaya had talked to him while Matsumoto had stayed outside.

The old man had been sceptical at first, but when the small captain presented his evidence in the form of the book he had been reading, then the old man's mind had become more open to the possibility of magic. After much talk the two had decided that the best course of action would be for him to investigate this 'Hogwarts' and see just what was going on there.

Hitsugaya shunpoed in the direction of the castle, a map torn from the book clutched in his hand – he would **not** rely on Mayuri's technology for this mission. After a short time of travelling Hitsugaya abruptly stopped short as he took in the sight in front of him. He heard Matsumoto's soft exclamation of amazement behind him, and he couldn't help but agree with the sentiment. In front of them rose a medieval castle, like the ones you would find in a children's picture book, settled into the landscape.

"That must be Hogwarts."

"It's so beautiful Taicho!" Hitsugaya scoffed slightly at her tone before moving forward again, slipping into the gates surrounding the grounds. However, there was something which puzzled him – how had they not spotted this enormous castle on their initial scan of the area? He knew for a fact that a few of the unseated officers which he had brought with him had looked in this area, but they hadn't reported anything, much less a castle. It was puzzling...

The halls were oddly silent as they walked through them; this was a school was it not? Then where were all the children? Neither of the two high ranking shinigami said anything, almost as though they were afraid to break the mystical air surrounding them, clinging to their essence.

"Toushirou!" Matsumoto jumped violently, and Hitsugaya instantly moved to grab Hyourinamru strapped to his back – he noticed out of the corner of his eye that Matsumoto had also moved to draw Haineko. Spinning around they saw a stern looking woman with a ridiculously pointy hat perched on her greying hair. She strode forward purposefully.

"I thought I just sent you home for the holidays?"

* * *

I didn't put this in the last chapter, and it was only doing it now for this chapter that I realise how much I enjoy doing these responses XD

Responses to reviews:

Illusive Man: I used your review to help me get ideas for later on down the track, so thank you very much :)

Sapphire Insanity: I agree, damn kido XD I wonder just how crazy I'll make Harry, though I had fun at the start of this chapter with his dream - that was pretty crazy XD

Ilovebleach102012: I agree, more shinigami would be awesome, and I've been thinking of some ways I could incorporate some specific characters in, though I'm quite sure yet... Anyways, thanks for the review XD

Snake and Crane: I'd give you a hug too if I could for writing such great reviews XD Unfortunately I didn't update soon, but don't worry, because you'll be able to read the next chapter in no time XD (Well, I guess some time would have passed... but you know what I mean, lol)

Lady Queria: I don't think gillion is a word, but I like it XD Reading what you wrote about the hollows disintegrating or being eaten was... confusing, but I get what you mean XD And I can tell you that I specifically left that arrancar undisintegrated on purpose XD Oh, the plot thickens, dun dun dun!

DXmaryoOD: I'm sorry for keeping you waiting . but wait no longer for I have decided to update faster now *Strikes super hero pose* I felt so evil when I made the two Toushirous come so close to meeting, but then they don't mwhahaha! Can't wait to find out what I decide to have happen in the holidays - something epic and cool I hope XD

animeloveramy: Thank you for you review XD They just make my day to open my e-mails and then for them to come up, and I'm like 'Yay! Reviews!' ^^

Kitsura E: I'm a sucker for suspense, so I try to make everything I write as suspenseful as possible - I'm glad it's working. The way I see it is that you build up the hype as much as possible and then 'BAM!' hit the readers with something so unexpected they're just like 'wow' XD And thank you for your absolutely lovely review ^^

Ziya Hitsugaya: I always love hearing from you XD You always push me to get off my lazy, procrastinating butt to update, and for that I thank you XD Have a wonderful birthday ^^

* * *

Guess what, I've started writing another fan fiction! I haven't posted anything up yet, and this story is one of the reasons why I took so long to post this chapter up, because the idea wouldn't leave my head and was clouding up all my other ideas for writing the Last One. Anyways, I probably won't start posting it until I'm almost finished it, and it isn't a crossover, it's just a normal Bleach fanfic, but I'm going for like one of those psychological thriller type ones, and I've never done anything like that before, so I'm a bit excited about it XD And, I thought I'd post a something something from it to see if you guys like it - this is what I'm planning to be the summary:

"Let's play a game, Shiro-chan, it would be so fun." "Why are you doing this? Why won't you leave me alone?" "Because that _is_ the game." The unnaturally cold chill ran down his spine as the creepy smile crept onto her angelic, child-like face – the face of the devil, come to torment him in this never-ending sick, twisted game.


	16. Chapter 14

Hey guys XD Well, this was meant to be out last weekend, but when I promised an update within the week I had forgotten that I was entering the week with all my tests at school, and that I would need to study XP So I could only write little bits a time. BUT I still got it to you within two weeks, so that counts for something right? Anyways, thanks to everyone who reviewed, I just love hearing from you all XD Also, I would like to dedicate this chapter to my lovely sister and dedicated reviewer Sapphire Insanity as it's her birthday tomorrow, so happy birthday my beautiful sister XD And on with the story

* * *

Chapter 14

An eternity passed in a few seconds as nobody moved; the hall silent and devoid of even the slightest sound. Hitsugaya had locked eyes with this strange woman, and he felt very much like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming car – something he rarely felt. Walking confidently into the school he had been unsure of what he would find, but he was fairly sure that he would be able to handle whatever discoveries he would unearth.

However, that one sentence threw him in a curve ball, and he wasn't completely sure how to respond to it; to start with he pulled his features back together to resemble someone of his status, schooling his features until they were just drawn down into his trademark frown, which marred his face.

"What?" _Nice work; eloquent as always._ His sarcastic thoughts did nothing to improve his rapidly decreasing mood, which was the same for his lack of a suitable response. The woman frowned at his word, as though she didn't understand what he was saying. _Wait... did I accidently speak in Japanese?_ That would explain the look, but just as he was about to repeat himself – hopefully in more words – the woman spoke.

"I said I thought I just sent you home for the holidays; weren't you staying with the Weasleys', Harry and Hermione?" The names meant nothing to him, which showed by his blank expression. Matsumoto could only look on in curiosity, completely forgotten to the side in light of this strange new development. Suddenly a conversation which she had had the last time they had been here came back to her mind.

Matsumoto continued trailing the trio silently, making note of all the cool-looking places that she would drag her Taicho back to when she had the chance.

_"Harry, I don't think that's possible, you couldn't have seen Toushirou, he wouldn't have been allowed to leave the Hospital Wing yet." Matsumoto's keen ears picked up on Hitsugaya's first name and she tuned into the conversation being held not too far below her._

_ "Hermione, seriously, how many people do you know with white hair and aqua coloured ice cubes for eyes?" Matsumoto narrowed her eyes at the description, how dare that child speak of her captain that way!_

_"That isn't nice Harry, but, I don't know, maybe it was a trick of the sun or something?" The boy named Harry and his red-haired friend looked at her incredulously, not believing it for a second. A retort was about to be made in reply, but Matsumoto felt now was as good as any time to confront these strange humans. She silently dropped down from the roof behind them, landing in a crouch before agilely stretching to stand straight. _

_She smiled at how her presence was still unnoticed and the urge to scare them had to be beaten back with a stick in her mind – her Taicho wouldn't be happy if she scared them. The three friends stopped walking and Matsumoto shunpo-ed to the entrance of the alley that they had entered before making it seem as though she too had just entered the alley, making noise as she walked. Three heads shot up at her arrival and the red-heads face lit up when he saw who it was. The girl – Hermione – however, looked at her in disapproval and Harry had his face set in an unreadable mask._

_"Hello! What a pleasant day for a beautiful stroll, ne?" The three kept their guarded expressions as she walked closer. They were both curious and suspicious._

_ "So, I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but I couldn't help but hear that you were talking about a person named Toushirou. That wouldn't, by any chance be Hitsugaya Toushirou would it?" The reactions were that of surprise and the girl, Hermione, narrowed her eyes._

_ "How do you know Toushirou?" She demanded of the taller woman. Matsumoto felt her lips slightly tug downwards in a frown._

_ "I could ask you that exact same question – how do __**you**__ know Hitsugaya Tai... Hitsugaya-san?" She caught herself just before she let his title slip, not that these children would know Japanese, but she still had to be careful._

_ "We go to school with Toushirou, and at the moment he shouldn't even be out of bed, but I could have sworn I saw him earlier, with you in fact."_

_ "School? What school is that?" Ron looked dumbstruck. _What school? Considering where we are wouldn't that be obvious?_ Out loud he replied "Hogwarts." When she still looked confused he elaborated._

_ "Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry." Matsumoto's face instantly lit up in recognition and the three relaxed slightly. In her head however the only thought that she had was _WTF! Witch craft and Wizardry!

_Whoops, I think that was information I should have told Taicho; too late now I guess._ Matsumoto smiled guiltily, even though nobody was watching her – she knew she had recognised the name 'Hogwarts' when her Taicho had told it to her!

"I have no idea who these people are, so if you'll excuse me I'll be on my way." Thinking that maybe this slightly crazy woman was having a case of mistaken identity, he went to brush by her.

"I see... I guess you must have changed your mind – though I'm sure Miss Granger will be very disappointed as she was looking forward to your visit in the holidays."

"Hn..." The two walked in their separate directions, and it was only after a few moments of walking that the small captain realised something – something very important. Whirling around to face Matsumoto he saw her standing just behind him.

"Why did she make no comment on your presence in this school?" She looked blankly for a moment, wondering what he meant. He saw her expression and sighed in frustration.

"This is a school is it not?"

"Yes."

"Then why would a teacher not comment on the presence of a suspicious woman in the school grounds who doesn't belong there?"

"Well, why wouldn't she comment on the presence of a suspicious white haired kid in the school grounds?" The rebuke was said in playful seriousness, as though she had actually taken offence to his question, though it was obvious the joke was lost on him as the temperature lowered with the word 'kid'. Struggling to maintain his cool – something he found himself always having to do around his brainless lieutenant – he explained it to her.

"Because, as you obviously saw, she mistook me for one of the students which _do_ go here." Matsumoto nodded slowly, allowing her thought processes to go into overdrive before a guilty expression crept onto her face. Hitsugaya immediately noticed it, his own features drawing down into a deeper frown – if Matsumoto was feeling guilty about something then it could only mean bad news for him.

"Well Taicho – you're going to find this funny, I know I did-" Not a promising way to start a conversation.

"But, well, you remember how I had to trail those kids last time we were here?"

"You mean the ones you spoke with and then got no information out of that would be useful?"

"Yes, those ones-" Breaking off in her thoughts, she remembered that she _had_ told her captain about his double, meaning she was off the hook! _Yes, this calls for some sake!_ Hitsugaya narrowed his eyes at the myriad of emotions briefly passing across her face until her features settled on one of joy and satisfaction; he did not like that look.

"What?"

"Hm? Oh, well before I remembered something that I thought I hadn't told you about, so I was a bit guilty because it was important – but then I remembered that I _had_ told you so I was in the clear – meaning a celebration's in order! Ooh, I know, let's go visit one of those adorable little shops in that town we visited!"

"Matsumoto."

"It would be so fun, and I'd be able to buy so many cool things-"

"Matsumoto."

"Like souvenirs. I wonder if I should get some souvenirs for Hisagi and Kira? I'm sure they'd like something."

"Matsumoto, be quiet!" He'd tried to keep his temper, but with every time she ignored him he could feel himself becoming more and more frustrated, until he was shouting at her. However, it achieved the desired response as she instantly quietened down.

"We will **not** be buying any souvenirs – our division's budget wouldn't be able to cover all the things you end up buying. Now, what was this extremely important thing that you had supposedly already told me about?" She thought for a moment, trying to think back to before the most recent conversation, a finger lightly tapping her chin.

"Oh right! The extremely important thing that I already told you was that you supposedly already attend Hogwarts."

"What?" At first he remembered no such thing, but before he could scold his lieutenant, his mind unwittingly remembered the conversation Matsumoto was referring to.

_"So did you find anything useful?" Matsumoto placed her finger on her chin as she thought as far back as her conversation with the three school kids._

_ "Hmm... Oh yes! Apparently you attend some school. What was the name again? Something strange... Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry! And also you're hurt and shouldn't be out of bed." The small Taicho let out a sigh of frustration. _It could be just a case of mistaken identity... But a school for witchcraft and wizardry? What is this place? Definitely worth looking into back in Soul Society.

_ "Did you get a description for this boy that is supposedly me?"_

_ "No."_

_ "Did you find out anything else about him?"_

"_No."_

With a small groan at the fact that she was right – something he never thought he'd think – he raised his hands to his temples to lightly massage them while trying to think. How had he forgotten such a pertinent detail? No matter, he had though back then that it might be mistaken identity, and nothing had ruled that out so far. Also, he wouldn't dwell on the fact that the teacher hadn't seemed alarmed to see Matsumoto, and instead use it to his advantage to have a look around without somebody stopping him and asking why a suspicious-looking lady was following him around.

The castle was indeed impressive; it was very large, and it also had this ancient feel to it which added to its overall charm. Neither of the two shinigami had ever been to a place quite like it as this type of architecture wasn't seen in Japan or Soul Society; it really was quite beautiful. However, they weren't there to inspect the scenery – they were there to gain information on both the castle and magic, as well as the mysterious power spike which oddly resembled Hitsugaya's power.

"We should split up; if you find anything useful out contact me immediately." Matsumoto nodded enthusiastically, ecstatic that she would be able to wander around this place unsupervised. Just as she was about to walk away the small captain cleared his throat to draw back her attention.

"And remember that we're here on a mission – so I expect you to _do_ the mission. DO you understand me?"

"Of course Taicho; when have I never done the mission assigned?" He raised an incredulous eyebrow and her mouth formed an '0' – she wasn't sure she wanted him to answer that one; he didn't answer it, thankfully. The two parted company to perform separate searches of the massive castle.

* * *

There was silence as everybody inspected the newcomer; nobody was quite sure how to break said silence, and it had gotten to the stage where it was quite awkward. Hitsugaya stood in front of all the people sitting in the dining room of Grimmauld Place, unsure of where to go as nobody formally introduced themselves, and nobody told him where to go. It was rather unsettling and he had to resist the urge move under the intense stares, with emotions ranging from anger to surprise. The silence was finally broken by Tonks, who stood up out of her chair.

"Oh my gosh, you are sooo cute!" A vein started to twitch in his head at her words, and he started to wish for the silence again; he heard a faint chuckle from an unknown person, but it was so faint that he was able to kid himself into believing that he imagined it.

"I'm Tonks, and you must be Toushirou; I've heard so much about you that it's like we've already met." At first he didn't know how to respond to the woman – _Tonks? What kind of name is that?_ – but he soon figured that she must be one of those scatterbrain-type people – like his lieutenant had been.

"Well, this is the first time I've ever heard your name, so I don't think we can say that." His face remained emotionless, with a very small frown on it, which in turn made Tonks frown as well before smiling again and sitting down. She was just about to open her mouth to say something when Mrs Weasley bustled into the room.

"Welcome, I'm Molly Weasley, and I'm assuming you're Toushirou? Come in dear; don't just stand there looking uncomfortable – we won't bite." Her kind smile prompted him to hesitantly take her up on her offer, and walked further into the room. He didn't know how it happened, but he soon found himself seated at the dinner table between Fred and a man he didn't know who had a very strange eye and was looking at him curiously; a steaming plate also found its way in front of him. The man at the top of the table stood up and walked towards him, extending his hand in greeting as he did so.

"Good to have you here for the holidays, I'm Sirius Black and this is my house which I've graciously invited you to." He gave a friendly smile as Toushirou shook his hand, though he felt somewhat confused – if this Sirius guy invited him then who was Padfoot?

"Thank you for inviting me, especially since you don't know me, but I was under the impression that a man named... Padfoot invited me." He felt slightly ridiculous saying the name out loud – a name that his brain was telling him sounded completely fake, but it was too late to take back his words. Sirius let out a bark of laughter, which, oddly enough, reminded the boy somewhat of a dog.

"Padfoot's my alias – I'm surprised Hermione didn't tell you that."

"Hn..." He seemed to stare his plate down, wondering how he would stomach all the strange foods before him, which Fred, to his side, found quite amusing.

"You put the food in your mouth, not stare at it."

"Don't skip steps Fred – you need to put it on your fork first, and then put it in your mouth-"

"And then chew-"

"And swallow." He glared at the identical sets of eyes looking back at him in mirth – he hated the twins, they were always so annoying!

"I know how to eat." His voice was extremely frosty as he replied to their ridiculous teasing, the temperature lowering slightly to reflect his displeasure. This act did not go unnoticed by the adults in the room, and Sirius raised his eyebrows at Lupin who slightly shook his head as though to say 'we'll discuss it later'.

"Really? We didn't think you did-"

"-Considering you're never in the Great Hall at meal times-"

"Boys, leave him alone." Mrs Weasley, thankfully, diverted the twin's attention, and they started their own conversation, leaving Toushirou alone, for which he was grateful. Looking down again he eyed the food suspiciously – it didn't matter how long he'd been around Western Cultures he still yet to get the hang of eating their food; it generally didn't sit well with him and so he avoided it completely.

He could feel the occasional look thrown his way, and for the first time since arriving in this time and meeting all the people, he wished to have Hermione here as he could at least be able to talk with her, rather than sitting by himself, talking to no one and just feeling over all very awkward. The man next to him lent forward, getting closer towards Toushirou, making him feel even more uncomfortable.

"I'm Alaster Moody – though everyone calls me 'Mad-eye Moody'." He reached his hand around and Toushirou shook it, staring at the strange eye that seemed to be able to see into his very core; he did **not** like that eye.

"So, what brings you here to Grimmauld Place these holidays?" The shinigami thought it was a strange question for the man to ask – but then again he was a pretty strange man.

"I was invited to stay here."

"But why did you chose to come here rather than being with your family at such an important time of the year?" The conversations around them continued on as if Hitsugaya and the strange man's conversation wasn't happening, but there was a definite decrease in the amount of noise being, showing that everyone was actually listening to their conversation. Most of the adults present knew about the state in which Toushirou was found in, but never had the topic of his past been broached, so everyone was curious. Toushirou, however, didn't know how to answer, and so settled with the option of lying through his teeth.

"Well, my parents are still overseas in Japan, and it costs too much to fly over there, so..." He allowed his sentence to trail off, letting them draw their own conclusions from what he said. However, all did not go to plan when an unlikely voice popped up with an even more unlikely offer.

"If money's such a problem then I can lend you some money – I've got more money than I would need in Gringgots, and I'd just convert it to proper currency." Hitsugaya locked eyes with Harry after his offer, realizing what they were doing – they were playing a demented form of chicken; whoever backed down first would lose. What they would lose Toushirou had no idea. However, he knew that if he backed out now with some excuse for not visiting his parents his entire back story – and anything he may say in the future – would become undermined. Forcing a small smile onto his face he replied to the generous offer.

"You would actually pay for my plan ticket there and back? Thanks Harry, I don't know what to say." The exchange appeared pleasant enough on the surface, but underneath both could feel the growing tensions.

"It's no problem, I mean, what are friends for?" The raven haired boy almost gagged on the word, but managed to keep a straight face.

"Well, I think this is going above and beyond what a friend would do, but I'm very grateful to you; I haven't seen my parents in a while, what with going to Hogwarts and all, so it would be great to see them again. Do you think you would be able to have the money for my plane ticket by tomorrow?"

"Of course – I can go to Diagon Alley first thing in the morning for you; do you want to come?" Toushirou wasn't sure how long Harry would keep this game up, but he knew that the scarred teen had nothing to lose because he didn't have to lend him the money, so to get out of the game meant that all he had to do was say he didn't want to lend the money anymore.

"It's ok, I'll just wait here for you to return; I find Diagon Alley too... crowded." Harry nodded his head – he could fully understand that sentiment because he felt that way too.

"Ok, so how much should I get out? Just enough for a return plane ticket?" Hitsugaya thought for a moment, mind whirling. If Harry was forced to pay too much then he might back out – but to come up with a believable story for more money...

"I'd hate to ask for more money considering you've been so generous already..." He allowed his sentence to trail, hoping Harry would take the bait.

"Don't worry – I can spend as much as you want, so just say anything else you'd need money for in Japan." _Yes, he took the bait! Baka..._ He had been hoping Harry would offer just that, and he didn't have to look greedy by asking for it.

"Well, I do need money for a hotel room for two weeks until school term starts, and also enough to pay for three meals a day plus extra snacks. Also, I'd need to be able to pay a taxi while I'm there, and I might need to use the taxi multiple times a day, so... that would probably have a sum in the thousands considering 1 British pound is roughly equivalent to 133 Japanese Yen." Hopefully he had pushed the price high enough that Harry would be unwilling to pay it. He saw Harry frown, and he was silently rejoicing; even though this game wasn't favourable to him he still wanted to win if not just for the fact that it meant that he would beat the teen.

"Why would you need money for three meals a day _and_ snacks when you never eat that much here? Also, why would you be staying a hotel – why not stay with your parents? Though I would be happy to pay for your taxi, even if it's something your parents should pay for." It was the white haired boys turn to frown. All the people around the table had ceased conversation to listen to the weird exchange and nobody, except for Ron, knew what to make of it. Thinking carefully Hitsugaya started to say his next lie – hopefully it wasn't so dramatic that he'll be picked up on it. However, the first part would be easy to answer.

"I don't eat that much here because I don't like Western food." He ignored the shocked stares and Mrs Weasley start talking in concerned way asking whether she should get him something else if he wasn't happy with the food. Allowing the smallest hint of sadness to enter his eyes he moved on to phase 2 – the tricky part of this whole ordeal.

"Well, my parents aren't that rich and they can't afford to pay for any of my expenses – such a taxi – and also... They don't live in a house either; it's more like a shelter, and no... children are allowed in because it's deemed an unsafe environment by the government. I don't... I don't really like talking about this."

He was sure that his performance was remarkably well said with just the right amount of emotion and want of privacy to make it sound sincere. Mrs Weasley, Tonks and Ginny all looked close to tears at his 'misfortune', and he was sure he had them convinced. _Beat that Potter._ Harry looked completely stumped as to what he should say next, but soon Toushirou was mentally hitting himself in his mind. _Damnit!_ He had put Harry in the position that if he backed out now he would seem cold and heartless, and he hadn't even meant to. At this rate he'd be in Japan by this time the next day visiting his 'parents'.

Harry kept his feelings off his face as he considered his problem. He had no idea whether Toushirou was lying or not – even evil beings had parents – but he _really_ didn't want to spend all that money! Suddenly a thought struck him.

"It does seem like a very bad environment for someone your age. Maybe it would be better if you don't go; we don't want something terrible to happen to you." Hitsugaya's smirk was so small that nobody could see it, but he felt it; he had won this little impromptu game. He made a show of pretending to contemplate Harry's comment, his face wearing frown of thought.

"I guess... you might be right about that. Also, I did promise Hermione that I'd be here for Christmas, so she would probably be very disappointed if I don't stay."

"Yeah... You should stay for Hermione." And just like that the matter was dropped with the two boys turning back to whatever they had been doing before – Hitsugaya staring his dinner down and Harry talking with Ron. Nobody else in the room knew what to make of the extremely strange and abnormal behaviour, though the tension hadn't been missed by a few of the older people in the room. After dinner was over all the younger people in the room not part of the Order were told to leave – in no uncertain terms to a few of the people – so that a meeting could take place.

As soon as they were gone silence once more descended on the room, as though waiting for somebody to start. It was once again Tonks who broke the silence.

"I like him."

* * *

Dumbledore sat at his desk in his office, a deep feeling of impending dread settling in his stomach – something was not right within the castle or its surrounding areas, but he couldn't pinpoint the source, which only served to make him more anxious. His troubled blue eyes peered unseeingly at the opposite wall, his mind whirling with everything that had happened in the year so far – and what an unusual year it had been. First he found a mysterious boy who wanted to go to Hogwarts, and for whatever reason that he himself still did not know, he agreed with the boy's wishes.

Then he had met with Harry and he had instantly felt that something was wrong – and it didn't take too long to figure out that Voldemort was the ringmaster behind this feeling in trying to occupy Harry's thoughts and mind, something that wasn't good at all. After the start of the school term he had also been very aware of everything that had been going down, and as such he was very aware of Harry's progression into slight insanity and paranoia – something that appeared to be instigated by the young Hitsugaya Toushirou, which was very troubling. Was his purpose in this school to guide Harry down the wrong path?

Dumbledore sighed before standing up from behind the heavy, oak desk, clear intent sparkling in his clear blue eyes. He remembered how he had threatened Toushirou so many weeks ago with investigating his background.

_Dumbledore kept trying to make eye contact, but the frustrating boy refused to meet him. As the Headmaster of Hogwarts he knew about these supernatural beings with the giant hole in the chest dubbed 'hollows' but that was about the extent of his knowledge, other than the fact that they wouldn't hesitate to kill a student and therefore must be disposed of before that. But Hogwarts was well guarded and the hollows hadn't been much of a threat before. _But two in only two days, that must be a record._ It was obvious that Hitsugaya Toushirou knew something about the hollows – probably more than what he knew – so he would try and make it seem as though he knew more than he did on the subject. Unfortunately the boy was remaining tight-lipped about it._

"_Toushirou, I need to protect the students in my school, and like it or not that includes you. And whether you chose to have my protection or not I still have a whole school full of people that need that protection. If any more of these creatures – and I'm sure you know by now that I'm talking about hollows – are going to come to the school then I need to know, and I have a feeling you would have that information. Am I right?" Toushirou looked straight into Dumbledore's piercing eyes. And people say my eyes are unnerving..._

"_Professor..." Dumbledore leaned forward expectantly._

"_Yes, go on."_

"_I have no idea what you're talking about. I have never even heard of these... hollows was it? I've never heard of them before. I'm sorry that I couldn't have been more help Sir, really. It's not like I want some strange creature attacking Hogwarts anymore than you do, but I can't help you."_

"_I see." Dumbledore stood up slowly._

"_Mr Hitsugaya, when I first met you in St Mungo's you were broken and dying with broken bones all over the place, including a broken spine. And despite all that and my own mind telling me to continue to inquire what had happened, even though you had said you would say nothing else on the subject, I respected your privacy and desisted with my questions. I even went as far as to accept you into Hogwarts even though by all rights I shouldn't have. I have not even received one letter from your old school – which is quite curious if you do think. _

_Now, I can overlook that fact, or I can rethink your position here and also conduct a formal inquiry into what actually happened that day that Tom found you in an alley. The choice is yours and I hope for your sake that you chose the right one. Good day and I hope you feel better soon." And with that the Headmaster walked out of the room, turning the lights off after him._

However, Dumbledore had never intended to make good on his threat, but now... He was seriously considering it – maybe not a formal inquiry, but a bit of a rough background check. It would also be easier to do while it was the holidays and the boy was at Grimmauld Place, so he was out of the way. With this in mind he was about to leave his office when a rapt knock was heard.

"Enter." Professor McGonagall opened the door before striding inside confidently, a small frown on her face as she faced the Head Master.

"Minerva, is there something the matter?"

"I'm unsure... Did Hitsugaya Toushirou leave for Grimmauld Place already?" _What an odd question_.

"Yes, I sent him with Severus – they should have already arrived by now." The frown on the Transfiguration teacher's deepened as she thought about his words.

"Why do you ask?"

"I just saw him in the Entrance Hall with a strange woman, and I figured that he had yet to leave, and that the woman was possibly Tonks in one of her changed appearances so as not to raise suspicion." This news was startling – he was one hundred percent sure that the boy had already left, and he knew for a fact that Tonks wasn't here, so who were these two people?

"Thank you Minerva for telling me this; was there anything else?"

"No." With a nod of his head signalling for her departure, the witch turned on her heel and briskly left the room, leaving the elderly Head Master with his thoughts, before he too left the room in search of 'Hitsugaya Toushirou'.

* * *

"Taicho, this place is amazing!" Matsumoto ran up to a suit of armour, inspecting it from every angle as though expecting it to just get up and move around – which he wouldn't have been surprised about; it seemed as though nothing about this place would surprise him again, not after getting into a fight with a painting. A painting – he had fought with a painting! If anybody had seen he would have been even more embarrassed, but luckily the halls had been empty at the time. If only he hadn't met back up with Matsumoto, and then he wouldn't have resorted to such childish nonsense.

"Aw, lighten up Taicho – if it makes you feel any better I think you would have won if you continued." A sigh of frustration escaped his lips as he raised his hand to hold the bridge of his nose, his head bowed so as not to vent his frustrations on her. They had found nothing since arriving, for the main fact that there was _no one_ to ask questions.

"No, that does **not** make me feel better; can you just drop it already so we can move on with the mission?

"But Taaiicho! This is so boring – maybe we should check out that cute little town that we visited before; I saw so many shops that I want to visit, and I think there would be a few to interest you as well." He was just about to retort with a scathing remark when he felt the presence of somebody else coming towards them. Apparently his lieutenant felt it to as she went silent, both of them alert for any potential threats – though he hadn't sensed any ill intent as of yet. The footsteps were heard long before they saw the boy walk around the corner. He appeared around 15 with extremely blonde hair, and a sort of weasel-ish complexion. As soon as he spotted the two standing in the corridor his eyes darted to Matsumoto before landing back on Toushirou, an arrogant and cocky grin sliding into place.

"Aren't you a little _old_ to be playing dress-up?" Toushirou frowned – he had no idea who this _child_ was, but he didn't like the way he was being spoken down to as though he were inferior.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." The boy gave a pointed stare at Hitsugaya's attire, including his shinigami uniform, captain's haori and his green sash securing Hyourinmaru on his back.

"Those clothes aren't normal – and who carries around an ornamental sword which looks as though it should be hanging on a wall?" He felt a vein start to twitch in his head – Hyourinmaru wasn't a show sword – but this boy wouldn't know that.

"I can assure you my sword is anything but ornamental; it's extremely sharp, and if I so wished, extremely deadly." The words were spoken in all seriousness, and he saw a small shiver pass through the boy at his words, which gave him an odd sense of satisfaction – he wasn't so great now with his cocky attitude.

"What is your name?" The boy looked at him in curiosity and confusion, as though trying to figure something puzzling out, before his smirk came back out in full force.

"Do you mean to say that you're so stupid that you can't even remember my name, even though I saw you not too long ago? What an idiot." The last part was muttered, but it was still heard by both Hitsugaya and Matsumoto, and as a result the temperature started to lower with the captain's anger. However, while his anger was cold and not presented in a way which the boy could see, Matsumoto had no such trouble with verbalising her anger. Stalking over she grabbed the boy by the front of his shirt in a menacing manner, using her superior height to her advantage.

"You listen here – he is _not_ stupid, and if I ever so much as hear that you were _thinking_ about calling him that again then I will-"

"Matsumoto." She instantly dropped the boy, who did in fact appear very intimidated by the older woman, and returned to her place slightly behind her Taicho, hearing the hidden command to stop in his authoritative voice. They wanted answers, not fights.

"Um... Malfoy; Draco Malfoy. Anyway, I need to go... See you later _Hitsugaya_." The hidden menace in his voice was obvious, and so was the fact that he intended to make him pay for Matsumoto humiliating him – though there would never be a 'next time' that he saw the boy. Hitsugaya watched in frustration as he walked away briskly, as though to put as much distance between them as he could.

"Matsumoto, we wanted answers; you scared him away."

"But Taicho, he called you stupid." Toushirou had his back to Matsumoto, so she was unable to see the miniscule smile which graced his face for a millisecond at her words. The woman loved to play the ditsy lieutenant, and she never did her work and was an overall pain in the arse, but she was also extremely loyal, willing to do anything to defend him in any way. When he faced her again, however, the smile was completely gone, and instead his trademark frown was in place.

"I heard, but we still needed to speak with him; he could have told us about this place-" He cut himself off when he saw the man standing at the end of the hallway before he swirled around, his black cloak billowing out behind him and obscuring his identity. He then took off down one of the halls at a fast pace. Without thinking Toushirou started to run after him, ignoring Matsumoto's startled cries before she was following him unquestioningly. He didn't know why he was chasing this particular person – maybe it was because he wanted to finish this bizarre mission and go home already and it was the first person – apart from Malfoy – that they had seen – but whatever the reason all he knew was that when he looked at the man covered by shadows he had gotten an extremely bad feeling, and he always went with his gut, which was telling him to follow the man.

Running down corridor after corridor they never could catch up with him, though they would occasionally see sightings on their wild goose chase – it was almost as though he knew the two shinigami were following him and he was toying with them. What was strange, as well, was that Hitsugaya couldn't sense his reiatsu – something he had been able to sense from the few inhabitants of the castle that he had seen, and also from the picture; it was a strange reiatsu the likes that he had never felt before, but reiatsu never the less. However, this man seemed to be able to control his perfectly, but the very few times that the captain did feel it, it felt extremely tainted though he didn't know why; he was unable to put his finger on it.

Rounding yet another corridor Toushirou had to stop himself in mid-jog so as not to run into the person who was also going around the corner. Taking a few steps back he inspected the old man who had a long, white beard – _what is it with old men and beards? Yamamoto has one as well_ – and the light seemed to be reflecting off, not his half-moon spectacle, but instead his clue, blue eyes which were currently piercing into him.

"Ah, Toushirou, just the person I wanted to see. What a coincidence that I would run into you here." His pleasant smile projected an air of serenity, but Hitsugaya felt anything but serene – it was too much of a coincidence that everybody here seemed to know who he was.

"You were looking for me? Might inquire as to why?" Dumbledore didn't answer for a few moments, instead looking at the transfer student; something about his appearance didn't seem right – it seemed... off, but he couldn't work out what it was.

"Yes, I was wondering why you're still here – I thought you left with Professor Snape to go to Grimmauld Place?" He opened his mouth to reply, but it was at that moment that Matsumoto rounded the corner, after finally catching up with her faster captain.

"Taaiichooo! Don't run off like that – I didn't feel anything wrong, so why did you run?" Her mouth instantly closed as soon as she saw that they weren't alone – she was only glad that she had spoken in Japanese so as not to be understood by this man. However, Toushirou saw the comprehension his eyes, and he knew that whoever this man was, he knew Japanese and had understood every word Matsumoto had said – and he appeared confused by them. It would not be safe to hang around him.

"No, I remembered that I had forgotten my... wand and so had to return to retrieve it – but I'll be going back now. Good day... Professor, but we'll be taking our leave – we wouldn't want to keep Hermione, Harry and the Weasleys' waiting at Grimmauld Place." Turning on his heel he walked calmly away; he could tell his lieutenant was confused as to why he had made up an excuse to get away, when he had been so eager to find someone to talk to before. However, that man looked as though he was extremely intelligent, and so it wouldn't take him long to figure out that the two of them didn't belong here, and so would start asking questions of his own – questions that were impossible to answer. He was only glad that he had been able to remember the names which that other teacher had said when he had met her before.

"We'll scout the town for now to see if we can find this disturbance again; we'll return to Hogwarts later." With that he utilized shunpo and started to head towards Hogsmeade, Matsumoto eagerly on his heels.

Dumbledore continued to stand there frowning before deciding it was time to visit Grimmauld Place – there was something he needed to see for himself.

* * *

Arriving at the house in which the head quarters of the Order of the Phoenix resided, Dumbledore purposefully strode inside and headed straight to the kitchen where he knew the meeting for the Order was still taking place. All the heads looked up when he entered and greetings were exchanged. After the room settled back down, and Dumbledore had taken his seat, the meeting continued with talks on the plans which they had devised in order to combat Voldemort's forces.

"The Deatheaters are becoming more of a problem each day; it's almost as though they know something big is going to happen and so they're increasing their power and numbers." Tonks' voice rang clear in the room as she continued with the report she had been able to glean from the Ministry of Magic files about the activity of certain wizards. It was troubling – if the Deatheaters were preparing for something big it could mean a war may be on the horizon.

"There isn't anything we can really do for the time being until we know more about the situation – but I say everyone should be extra cautious, because we won't know who's an enemy and who's an ally." Silence reigned across the room at the sobering thought.

"Also, we have absolutely no idea what's happening with Voldemort at the moment; Harry said he was trying to regain his body, but a lot of people have been on this project trying to work out _how_ he can return with no body, but as of yet no answers have been produced – some are even saying it's impossible."

"What about..." All heads turned towards Molly Weasley, who sat next to her husband at the table; she normally didn't speak much at these meetings, and only putting input in where she thought it was needed.

"If he had developed a new type of magic then no one would be able to know how he was returning, and so wouldn't be able to pre-empt it." That comment was true – it had already been proven that there was a new type of magic going around, and Voldemort was possibly the source – maybe the magic was being designed specifically to gain him a body, which is why some people were ending up dead, as sort of experiments. A creak on the stairs caught the attention of all present – somebody was out of their room, and possibly trying to eavesdrop on their conversation; most probably the twins. A knock was heard at the door, and Sirius replied with a curt "come in" before the door was pushed open to reveal Toushirou, who had changed out of his school clothes and into jeans and a polo shirt.

"I'm sorry for interrupting, but would it be possible to get a drink?" Molly smiled motherly at him.

"Of course dear, just come this way to the kitchen." Dumbledore stared after the boy, frowning intently at his retreating figure; how had he gotten there so fast? And then the thing which had troubled him earlier about the boy's appearance hit him – he had been shorter! Also, now that he thought about it he had also appeared a little bit younger as well, which made absolutely no sense whatsoever. Toushirou and Molly soon re-entered the dining room and Toushirou proceeded to leave the room with a "good night", but was stopped before he could close the door.

"Toushirou." Said person in question turned back around to face the elderly Head Master.

"Yes sir?"

"I'm glad you made it back here ok, after forgetting your wand." Confusion passed across his face – as it did for all the other adult's faces as well. What was he going on about?

"I'm sorry sir, but I don't think I quite understand – what do you mean after I forgot my wand? I arrived here with Professor Snape and I haven't left; my wand is up in my bag."

"I see... well, good night Toushirou." He stood there for a few seconds longer staring at the apparently senile man before leaving the room and pulling the door closed behind him. Lupin directed Dumbledore with a stare.

"What was that about?"

"Nothing of great importance." It was obvious he was unwilling to say any more on the subject at this current moment in time, so, as unwilling as everyone else was, they dropped the subject, knowing that the Head Master would fill them in on his thoughts later. The meeting continued as though there had been no interruption.

* * *

"M-My Lord, He has r-requested your p-presence." The snivelling person on the floor was a pathetic sight to behold to any who could see him, but there was no one in the empty room so devoid of life. In fact, the cowardly man appeared to be the only living person in the entire room, which was devoid of furniture, apart from on large armchair in the centre, with a bundle of blankets on it. The back was to the man so he was unable to see his Master, but he didn't need to – in fact he would rather not look at the grotesque monster which was his Master's form.

"Tell him I shall come soon, but for now I am busy." The man flinched at the airy words spoken as though they had been harsh and loud, rather than insubstantial and soft.

"H-he said it was u-urgent, and for y-you to c-come immediately." While he was afraid of his Master – who was scary on his good days, which were few and far between – this other man whom his Master had made a deal with was even worse; just thinking about him petrified him so much that he was sure he was unable to move.

"Wormtail, are you disobeying me?"

"N-no, My L-Lord"

"Good; now go tell him I shall see him soon."

"There is no need for that." Wormatail froze at the new suave voice spoken as the newcomer entered the room.

"I decided I needed a walk to stretch my legs for a bit; sitting on a throne all day tends to cramp the muscles." Even though he wasn't facing the newcomer, Wormtail could imagine the kind smile on the man's face which spoke of goodness and kindness, yet it hid the true, evil monster beneath.

"How are the plans proceeding?"

"There seems to have been a small... hitch in the plans."

"A hitch?"

"Yes; from what I can gather from his very jumbled mind, it would seem as though there are two new players involved – a child and a man who I still cannot identify who keeps entering his mind." There was silence for a moment before the liquid-honeyed voice spoke again.

"A child and an unidentified man; as you didn't describe the child as unidentified, would I be correct in assuming that you know who he is?"

"I am unable to garner a name, however I have a description gleaned from his thoughts. It would seems as though this child is shorter than average with pure white hair and unusually coloured eyes which our little host appears to hate."

"I see..." Nothing else was said, but the man's mind was whirling – there was only one person who he knew that went by that description, and if it was who he thought it was then it was indeed a hitch in their plans, but not one that was unfixable – he was easy to work around.

"Nether the less, we must continue with the already thought out plan, and hope that neither of these two people halt the progression of the plan."

* * *

Responses to the Reviews:

Illusive Man: I'm pretty sure you can't own the universe because I already claimed it XD And thanks for the review XD

Millie M. Banshee: I was aware of that fact XD And I haven't decided yet whether I should do anything with his birthday or not - I guess inspiration will just hit, and that'll give me the answer I need XD

Lady Queria: Lol, I have to go back over what was said in the reviews just so I can write these responses - imagine what it would be like if I did it just from memory XD I love caffeine highs (I love coffee XD) I liked the start of the last chapter, which wasn't going to start off with that dream, but the first line popped into my head and I'm like 'I'm using this' XD It is kinda like L, and now that you mention it, and I can picture it :) - I love L XD Lol, I always feel like I disappoint with this whole confrontation thing - but when they do meet, damn it's gonna by good, just for the fact that everybody's waited so long for it XD

Ilovebleach102012: A lot faster than most of my other updates XD I've decided I'm going to try and update as fast as I can rather than leaving it for long periods of time - it really disrupts my flow of thinking when I do that XD Ooh a cookie - choc chip, my favourite XD Tastes delicious XD If I get a cookie every time I update then I'm definitely going to update quicker XD

FullmetalKeyblade-13: It was my first ever cliff hanger, I was so excited XD I'm sorry though, it does seem cruel in hindsight :) I loved that first line - it came from nowhere! Lol, I've once again disappointed, as I was saying just above in another response, but don't worry, I can feel them getting closer to each other - and plus, the present Hitsugaya is in Hogsmeade, and the future Hitsugaya needs to go back to school after the holidays, so... XD Aw, I don't know why but I like making Harry twisted in the mind - and we'll see a lot more of him in the next chapter XD Thanks for the review XD

DXMaryoOD: Wow, you must be psychic XD Thanks for your awesome review XD

Snake and Crane: You're welcome XD (I got your hint XD)

Ziya Hitsugaya: Aw, I didn't even think of that, but now I can do all kinds of emotional stuff when they meet XD I'm glad you had a great birthday - and dedicating the chapter was nothing for my great reviewer XD

Sapphire Insanity: Lol, I only had a little bit of psychotic Harry in this chapter, and he didn't seem very crazy XD Though, that was just to show how the two seem to be competing and unwilling to lose to the other, even though they don't even know what they're playing for XD Though the next chapters will be... interesting XD Definitely some crazy mind stuff is going to happen XD

Bokmal14, Animeloveramy and IchigoRenji: Thanks you guys for your awesome reviews; I love hearing from you XD

* * *

And so ends another chapter XD I usually don't put anything under my review responses, but I have a question I want to ask everyone - I was going to ask it ages and ages and ages ago, but I kept forgetting XD Anyways, I was once asked when you write crossovers between Harry Potter and Bleach (or any other real life thing and anime) do you imagine the characters as real, in real life, or do you imagine them as anime characters, because obviously the Bleach characters are anime and so aren't real, so how do you think when writing them together? Well, when I got asked that I had no clue because I'd never thought of it before, but I'm curious as to what others think - so when you're reviewing my chapter (hint, hint) just tell me what you'd answer to that question if it you were asked it XD


	17. Chapter 15

Yay, another chapter XD Exactly three weeks since my last update, not a day earlier or later, which I think is pretty good. I'm on holidays at the moment so hopefully that means I'll have more time to write, so fingers crossed the next chapter coms out fast XD Thanks to everyone who reviewed, I just love reading them all, and thanks to everyone who answered my question that I asked last chapter - they all helped XD And on with the story ^^

* * *

Chapter 15

The cold seeped into the room, which was illuminated slightly by a sliver of moonlight filtering through the window set high in the wall. The heavy layers of dust, for the most part, remained still on the shelves, though occasionally a torrent would raise and swirl before settling back down; luckily enough it was always silent when it did so. Toushirou crouched down low to the ground, his fingertip lightly tracing along the spines of the great tomes on the bottom shelf in this library of sorts in Grimmauld Place, his mouth unconsciously forming the names of the titles to make it easier to read.

For a while now there had been something niggling at the edges of his mind, a point or fact which remained unseen, yet still managed to tease him with the prospect of knowledge which he did not possess. It had been a while since the start of his suspicions that he didn't know the complete story of this time – something which he had believed he did know when he plunged head first into this self-appointed mission – so now he would set things right, starting with finding out about this mysterious character who seemed to worry and scare everyone; Voldemort.

After endless, tireless hours of shuffling around on his knees in the dirt, all he had gotten was dust up his nose and in his eyes, as well as dirt clinging to any available skin. Wiping a hand across his face in an attempt to clear away the accumulating grime, but instead smearing it and making it more ingrained, the short shinigami was ready to give up. He rocked backwards to sit on his haunches, thinking of a new game plan, considering there were no books less than a century old in the room.

A soft creak diverted his attention to the opening door, and before he could move to find some kind of cover, the door was fully opened, exposing him on the floor as dull light entered the room from a window in the hallway. The owner of the house – Sirius Black – walked in, closing the door behind him. Toushirou was unsure of what would happen – he _had_ been snooping around at night time in somebody else's house; if it had been his house he wouldn't have appreciated it much either.

"Are you having fun there Toushirou?" There was a definite mocking and light-hearted tone to the man's voice – the question didn't need an answer as it was fairly obvious.

"I came down here because I thought there was a rat in here, what with all the barely heard shuffling noises. Imagine my surprise when I opened the door to find, not a rat, but my new guest." He plopped down none too quietly onto the ground, dust raising angrily for a few moments as though to attack the invader.

"So, what are you doing in a dark, dirty library at this hour?" Sirius's tone turned to one more serious, waiting for the boy's answer. Toushirou, on the other hand, was unsure whether he wanted to make his ignorance known, especially to this man who he didn't know; how humiliating it would be! Debating with himself for a few minutes he came to the conclusion that he would find out nothing unless he inquired, so hesitantly, he asked his question which had been bugging him.

"I've heard many people talking about this subject, yet I must admit... ignorance of the topic, so if you could shed some light it would be much appreciated. My first question is... who is this 'Voldemort' that people seem so afraid of?" Because of the darkness, Hitsugaya couldn't actually see the man's expression, but he could tell it was one of shock, which was reflected in his tone when he managed to find his voice.

"You don't know who Voldemort is?" What a dumb question – he wouldn't have asked if he already knew!

"No."

"Well, he's just about the most evil wizard the world has ever known. Many years ago, when he was still at large, he went around torturing and attacking innocent people and the world was very dark indeed. I can actually still remember it like it was yesterday; never do I ever want to return to those days, not knowing if your next day will be your last. There was nothing anybody could do; the man was just so incredibly powerful."

Hitsugaya listened to, what he suspected was, a very shortened version of the events, enthralled in the tale. If Voldemort had been so powerful than what happened to him?

"However, at the height of his power, around fourteen years ago, this man, this wizard so powerful that just the name could make a man tremble in fear, met his match in a place called Godric's Hollow." He paused, his face clouding over in memory, remembering how that vile man had destroyed the lives of two amazing people, and he had been blamed for it. Clearing his throat he continued, and Hitsugaya just sat in silence as he waited patiently.

"The night of his downfall he intended to kill a certain family – the Potter's-" Toushirou's eyes widened slightly at this news.

"-and he succeeded in killing James Potter almost instantly, who had tried to save his son – Harry – and his wife – Lilly. Lilly was then killed protecting young Harry, who was only one year old at the time, and Voldemort turned to kill the child. However, something happened and the killing spell he had used went awry, and instead of killing Harry he himself was stripped of his powers and body.

Many believed him dead – they still do believe him dead..." The sentence trailed off, and Hitsugaya continued to wait patiently, riveted by the tale, until it was becoming increasingly obvious that the man was not going to continue.

"But you believe that he isn't dead?" The man's head snapped around to look at Toushirou, as though he had forgotten the boy was still there, a thoughtful look upon his face, contemplating his next words.

"Last year Hogwarts hosted the Tri-Wizard Tournament and Harry ended up in the competition, even though he wasn't meant to. After a long series of events – which would take too long to explain – the last task was to take place, and it was a giant maze. In the centre of this maze was the Tri-Wizard Cup, but it had been turned into a portkey, so when Harry and Cedric – another person from Hogwarts – touched it, they were transported-"

"Wait, what's a portkey?" It was so much information to take in, and the small shinigami felt as though his mind might explode from the overload of strange, foreign details.

"A portkey is a device which transports a person from one place to another, though they must be touching the device in some way. A portkey can take any shape or form – like an old boot, a hat, anything." The boy nodded, indicating that Sirius could return to his main story, a story which he was failing to see the relevance of at the moment.

"Anyway, the two students were transported to a graveyard, where Cedric was almost instantly killed-" _Ok, I hadn't been expecting that one._

"-and Harry was left to fend for himself against a growing number of Deatheaters – who are Voldemort supporters; his army of sorts. They wear long black robes and hoods, and a white mask." A quiet, sharp intake of breath was heard, though only because the room was so silent. Images of hooded figures with white masks invaded Toushirou's mind; he knew of the Deatheaters, though in his time, as far as he knew, they had no name, and were just the wizard army allied with Aizen.

He was so deep in thought that he didn't feel the eyes penetrating through him, as though trying to unravel his secrets. After a moment of no one commenting, Sirius cleared his throat to continue his tale.

"So Harry was in this graveyard, very much in enemy territory, and he was soon captured to be used in a magical ritual to raise Voldemort from the 'dead' and give him a human body. However, as part of this ritual he needed the bones of his deceased father – hence the location – but they had recently been exhumed, conveniently enough, and so Voldemort was unable to return to a human body. To answer your question, yes, I believe that he is alive in a sense – almost soul-like if you will, though how a monster like him could achieve a soul is beyond me. Harry claims that he will continue to try and regain a body though."

Sirius lounged backwards, linking his ankles together out straight, and leaning against the bookshelf behind him. Hitsugaya continued to remain cross-legged and upright, his mind whirling at everything he had heard. The story was interesting – by far one of the most interesting things he had ever heard – but it was completely new to him, which disturbed him greatly.

Being from the future he supposedly knew about the entire history of the past – this time which he was currently in – and this story seemed to be pretty much the most significant one in wizarding history, so why had he never heard the name Voldemort before? He frowned deeply as the silence increased; the story finished.

"What can Voldemort do to regain his body if he can't use his father's bones?" Sirius shrugged non-committedly; that was a question which was asked time and time again at the meetings for the Order, and he didn't really feel like talking about it with a 'fifteen' year old boy who he didn't really know all that well.

"Well, one suggestion was put forward that he may try to tie his soul into an artificial body – but that's ridiculous! Magic hasn't progressed nearly far enough to make a realistic human body!" He barked with laughter, before quickly silencing himself so as not to wake anyone else up, his mind returning to the meeting only a few months ago, just before school term, when that idea was suggested.

"_Ok, so back to the matter on hand. We know that Voldemort is trying to come back and is trying to regain his body. But I just don't see how that's possible. I mean he had the best chance at the end of last year, when he tried to use Harry's blood and the bones of his father, plus other unimportant objects. But since someone, most likely the muggles, had exhumed the body for some kind of scientific research, Voldemort really was up the creek without a paddle. And that spell is the only one that I know of that can let him regain his body. There is absolutely no way humanly possible that he can come back to his former human self. Does anybody else have anything to say?"_

_At Sirius's words, there were many nodding heads in agreement, but a few were shaking, not agreeing with him at all. One being Severus Snape. The oily haired teacher opened his mouth but everyone else was speaking rapidly, trying to voice their opinions on the matter. To get their attention he slammed his hand down on the desk and it immediately quieted everyone down._

_"Yes Sirius, what you say is true, last year was the Dark Lord's best chance to regain humanity, but just because you don't know of any other way does not mean that they do not exist. You do not know everything. There are probably hundreds of ways to make a synthetic body that his soul can inhabit. I mean the body is just a vessel which harbours our souls, what does what the vessel is made out of? Or maybe he could steal another persons' body through magic? There are more ways to gain a body than just one. We are thinking too much inside the square." _

_Everyone was quiet as they contemplated the implications of what Snape had said. He was talking about creating a body, essentially an empty shell, for Voldemort to use. If that was the case he could make it look like anything he wanted and they would lose him before he began his reign of terror, but by then it would be too late._

_Sirius started to laugh. It started quiet and then built up into a hearty laugh; many others joined in with him. Only Snape himself, Dumbledore, Hermione and Harry remained quiet._

_"That _Snivellus_ is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard in my entire life. Making a body? How many movies do you watch? This is real life; those kinds of things aren't possible. So pull your head out of lala land and help think of what we should do to make the public aware that Voldemort's trying to return."_

As Sirius lost himself in memory, Hitsugaya's eyes widened at the implications of that idea. _Whoever suggested that was essentially suggesting that this Voldemort could create a gigai!_ For wizards to touch on the area of the shinigami so early in time further emphasised just how much he didn't know about this place, or even this time period – according to the books wizards didn't find out about shinigami for another half to one full year.

"Who suggested the idea about an artificial body?" He tried to keep the curiosity from his voice, but he knew it was still there, and Sirius's keen ears also heard it because his eyes narrowed slightly. He had only thrown that idea out there because it was completely impossible, and he hadn't wanted to discuss actual Order business with him.

"Snape did, but it doesn't really matter because it's impossible; don't get it into your mind that it's a possibility because you'll only cause an unneeded panic."

"Hn..." It was non-committed, and Sirius didn't at all seem pleased by the answer.

"Toushirou, I'm serious; don't look into this matter because you'll only end up looking into some extremely dark magic, considering the fact that Voldemort is associated with this magic. Lord knows we already have enough magic problems what with this new type of magic being found."

As soon as the words were out Sirius immediately shut his mouth, and Toushirou's ears perked up in curiosity. _Damn!_ Sirius thought sourly. He found it was just too easy to talk to this unusual boy, and if he wasn't careful than he might end up spilling all the closely guarded secrets of the Order.

"New type of magic? What are the types that you already have?" Figuring that this was the safest question he could answer – because all witches and wizards knew the answer – he reluctantly spoke up, hoping his mouth wouldn't run away with him again.

"There are only two types of magic which we knew about, and they're spells and potions."

"How is there a new type of magic than; those two categories are fairly broad, and they encompass all the different magical things I've ever heard, seen or read about." Judging by the tense muscles in the man's face, Toushirou was fairly certain that he was treading on shaky grounds, and so should be cautious if he wanted to get all the answers he could out of Sirius.

"Well..." He paused; he wasn't sure whether he should say any more, but for some reason he got the strange impression that this boy would be able to shed some new light on the situation.

"We found a dead man in an alley a few months back, the day before Hogwarts term started. Upon closer, magical examination it revealed that the man had been killed with a type of magic that has never been seen before, and we believe that it may be magic which Voldemort has invented. We have no idea what it is or how it works, just that it is extremely deadly, and leaves no traces on the body, or inside it."

_A dead man in an alley? Why does that sound so familiar?_ At the words something started to tug on his mind, but Hitsugaya couldn't for the life of him remember what it was his mind was insistent that he remember. However, he did notice that Sirius seemed to be studying him intently, as though trying to study his reaction, and so he wiped his face clean of all emotion; a talent which he was quite proud of.

"The man was found with no ID, but he looked like a bit of a thug with a rough-looking scar on his face, from here to here." He drew a line with the tips of his finger from his hairline to below his left eye.

_At the end of the run-down alley was a man huddled over an impromptu fire in a can. As Hitsugaya neared, the man looked up and stared at him with one eye – the other eye was closed over as large slash scar ran down from his hairline to just below the eye. The man looked like he had been in a fight many times and never once won._

The memory hit him like a tonne of bricks, and he temporarily forgot about Sirius's presence in the room; he remembered that scar – such a defining feature – and he remembered how he had killed that man... with kido! The new type of magic which Sirius was referring to, that he thought was created by Voldemort, had to be kido, a demon art practiced by the shinigami!

"Dumbledore has been investigating this new magic, as is only natural, and he's a very smart man so I have no doubts that he'll get to the bottom of it and unravel all secrets associated with this magic."

_Unravel all the secrets... He would find out about the shinigami, which would bring the two worlds closer together... I can't let the world's meet otherwise the future will happen again. I need to make it seem as though Voldemort created this 'magic' which they think it is. I cannot let Dumbledore find out about its true origins... I can't let Dumbledore find out about me._

"Hn." More silence. It was becoming clear to Sirius that whenever the boy didn't feel like answering a question he would just reply with a non-committed 'hn' – did that mean he knew something about this magic? Sirius was about to press the issue when Toushirou stood up, silently, and stretched his legs.

"It's pretty late, and I should be getting to bed if I want any sleep tonight. Thank you for answering my questions." He left the room quickly, the door softly clicking shut behind him.

"You're welcome." The words were spoken to the still night air, as Sirius's facial features drew down into a frown; Toushirou was one strange kid. _One strange kid who knows a helluva lot more than the Order knows._

* * *

The next morning Toushirou woke to the sound of silence in the house, which didn't change even as he walked down to the kitchen, which was oddly barren. Frowning in thought he decided to search the entire house, though he already knew he would find no one considering he could feel no life forces within the building. _Where is everyone?_

Returning to the kitchen it was then that he saw a piece of paper neatly folded on the table top with his name written clearly on it. Without waiting for an invitation he picked the paper up and unfolded it to read the contents within.

Toushirou,

I hope you don't feel confused when you woke up this morning, but everyone has left to see Arthur (Mr. Weasley) at St. Mungo's this morning. We won't be back until around 3:00pm, and I've left you some pre-prepared lunch in the fridge if you get hungry. I'm sorry that we left without saying anything, but you looked too peaceful sleeping, and Ron told me that you usually look to be having a bad dream when you sleep, so I didn't want to disturb what little good rest you could get.

Don't get into too much mischief, and stay in the house – don't leave to go somewhere else,

Molly

At least they hadn't asked him whether he wanted to go with them; not that he would have minded, but he needed some time to himself at the moment and he would have felt too rude to have said 'no' if they were to ask him to go. Feeling his stomach rumble – he hadn't had dinner last night even though there was a plate in front of him – and he was now feeling the results of that decision.

After snooping around in the kitchen for any edible food, all he came up with was a few slices of bread, one egg and a jar of marmalade. _Hmm, maybe I'm not as hungry as I thought I was..._ Turned off the food he made up his mind to wait for lunch; hopefully it would taste nice.

Leaving the kitchen he stood out in the foyer area, is keen eyes taking in all the furnishings and decorations, his mind coming up with possibilities of things to do to keep him occupied. _What I need is a new set of objectives._ With this in mind he shunpoed up to the room which he was staying in – it wasn't very big, but he had it to himself, so he couldn't complain – and searched in his trunk for paper and pens, which he tossed onto the floor after retrieving them.

As well as this he took out the worn, crumpled piece of paper which he had written his last objectives on, as a sort of checklist. It included:

**1. Join Hogwarts as a student to keep Harry in line, and prevent him becoming Aizen's General**

**2. Befriend Harry and hang out with him and his friends**

It was a fairly bad checklist, and he could have sworn there were more points on it, but no matter; it was void any way, and completely useless to him. Sitting on the ground he started to write a new one, concentrating deeply on what would be relevant and what was pointless.

The time came and went as he wrote, until his stomach pulled him out of his musings, reminding of its problem. Looking at the clock he was surprised to see it was 2:30pm, and that everyone would be back soon. So far his new list read:

**1. Find more out about Voldemort – what is the relevance of him, and what is his purpose?**

**2. Keep closer eye on Harry – ****No Excuses**

**3. Find out more about the linked dream – how did it happen? ****Why**** did it happen?**

**4. Investigate more into the arrancar around Hogwarts – if Ron had come back than were some other, less desirable arrancar back as well, even General Potter himself?**

**5. Make Dumbledore believe Voldemort created this 'new' type of magic – divert all suspicion from the shinigami and from me**

**6. Keep up the pretences of a student – nobody must find out the real reason**

**7. Keep Hermione safe**

The last point was added at the last moment; he had dragged the young witch into this mess – whether it had been him or his zanpakuto was irrelevant – and so he felt slightly responsible for her wellbeing, considering she had already helped to kill an arrancar. Satisfied with his list for the time being he carefully folded it and placed it inside his trunk before piling everything on top of it; if somebody were to find it than a load of uncomfortable questions would more than likely be asked.

Realising that he could no longer ignore his angry stomach, he decided to trek down to the kitchen, where he found the pre-prepared lunch Mrs. Weasley had left him, which was simply a plate of chicken sandwiches, but it was much appreciated – he didn't know if he would be able to eat it if it had been one of those strange western dishes which usually came up at lunchtime in Hogwarts; but he did like chicken, very much so.

He didn't know if all the sandwiches were for him – there were at least five – but he figured if they were left for him than they were all for him, so he felt no guilt in polishing off the entire tray of sandwiches. He even went so far as to wash, dry and then leave it on the table for Mrs Weasley (he would have put it away, but he didn't know where it went). It was now just before quarter past three, meaning that everyone was late, but he didn't overly mind that much – Christmas _was_ only a week away, and he was unsure of whether they would see the man again before Christmas if he was not allowed to return home.

_One week before Christmas..._ For some reason unknown to him that time frame sent a small shiver down his spine, but he could swear that it had nothing to do with the festive holiday. No, something was meant to happen between now and seven days away. Thinking hard, with the knowledge just out of reach, he was about to grab it when the front door opened loudly, disrupting his thoughts and causing him to lose a hold of whatever he had been trying to remember.

"Ah, Toushirou dear, I'm terribly sorry for leaving you behind." Mrs Weasley bustled into the kitchen, dumping a few bags on the counter.

"It's fine; I'm glad you go and see Mr Weasley – is he in a good condition?"

"Yes, he is; the doctors say he'll be home before Christmas, so that's very good news. They say that at his rate of recovery he'll be home by the 21st of December, in just three days!"

"That's great news." By now other people were filing into the room, and Ron stretched his arms above his head with a yawn.

"Man, I am starving! I think I'll have one of those chicken sandwiches-" _Whoops, I guess I was meant to leave some._

"-because I doubt Toushirou'll have eaten very many of them." _Good, I didn't have to._ Ron walked to the fridge and opened the door with a frown when he discovered no delicious sandwiches, and after a scouting of the room which turned up with no results, the red head was thoroughly confused.

"Where's the plate with the sandwiches?" Toushirou silently pointed to the clean plate sitting on the table, a small smirk playing in his mind, which he didn't allow to show on his face. Ron followed his finger, the frown still on his face.

"Where? All I see is some plate." Toushirou rolled his eyes; Ron was such a moron, and he didn't feel like wasting his time any longer on him, and instead he turned to Mrs Weasley.

"When's Hermione getting here?"

"She'll be here two days before Christmas; she's spending at least some of the holidays with her parents; we'd invite them here, but they're muggles you see, so we can't."

"Hn."

"Mum, where are the sandwiches?" Ron was still frantically searching everywhere in the kitchen, his hunger driving him forward, while Harry, the twins, Lupin, Sirius and Ginny just stood and watched him, laughing occasionally.

"I don't know dear; it looks like Toushirou ate them all – I did leave them for him after all."

"Thank you Mrs Weasley for doing that, by the way; they were a lot better than anything I could have thrown together."

"It was no trouble dear." She gave him a warm smile, and he felt a strange emotion welling up in his chest. He needed to get away from this kind woman immediately; this kind woman who reminded him of a cross between Unohana and his own Granny – a dangerous combination.

"Excuse me." With that he high tailed it out of the room, leaving the mother of the Weasley's standing there slightly confused. She had been unable to decipher the strange look in his eyes as he turned away from her, but Molly Weasley had raised seven children and she was almost certain that the young guest had looked pained for some reason or another, and while she decided to drop it for now, she had a feeling that the issue would reoccur later on.

"You ok mum?" She nodded absentmindedly as she started to tidy up the spotless kitchen, and then moving to another room. Ron was perplexed at her behaviour, but shook his head as he turned to Harry.

"I'm so glad dad's gonna be back in time for Christmas."

"I know; I'm just glad that he isn't seriously hurt." Harry still felt extreme guilt, even though he hadn't actually been the snake, and Mr Weasley had already told him that it wasn't his fault even in the slightest.

"Yeah, that's a pretty good thing... But blimey, did you see the bandages? There were a lot of them. Oh Harry, stop looking like that it wasn't your fault; you saw were the one who saved him, so you're a hero – not a villain." _But what if I am the villain? All this time I've been thinking that everyone has been against me, but what if I'm the one against everyone else?_

"I guess..."

"Look, I know what'll make you feel better; how 'bout we have a little friendly game in wizard's chess?" Harry smiled wryly – playing wizard's chess was Ron's solution to any unwanted mood.

"Sure, but don't expect to win."

Ron eagerly went to retrieve his wizard's chess set, and the two of them set up their game in a room which could be considered a lounge room; a lounge room that was in dire need of a clean, but one none the less. They were so into the game that neither of them noticed the boy standing at the door, watching them laugh and play like age old friends, the air free of hostility. After watching for a bit Toushirou turned on his heels, leaving the two in peace and feeling very much like an intruder.

He reached the room which he was staying in and sat heavily down on the bed, his gaze fixed on a spot on the opposite wall, without actually taking anything in; his eyes were unseeing. He still felt strange from talking earlier with Mrs Weasley, and it seemed as a result his emotions were slightly off kilter. _Why would she be so nice when she doesn't even know me? Nobody's that nice without an agenda._ However, try as he might, he couldn't picture the smiling, plump woman as having a hidden agenda which would require a nice facade.

Trying to banish thoughts about the woman his mind then turned to the scene he had witnessed just before. In all the time he had known Harry Potter, he had never seen him so relaxed, just laughing without a care, talking like his words didn't carry an unknown weight. _What went so wrong? How did you turn into the monster which is General Potter?_ He seriously couldn't see a connection between the two; sure, Harry was slightly crazy, and he had _extreme_ mood swings, but the General was cruel, sadistic, spiteful and... evil; Harry didn't fit any of those words.

"Voldemort." He wasn't sure whether the whispered word was in his mind or out loud – not that it even mattered – but he knew that the name, and the person behind the name, had a lot to do with this problem; if he could figure out how Voldemort fitted into the puzzle, then he could figure out the rest of the pieces. _A puzzle... where have I heard that analogy before?_

_According to this book, my dream last night meant that... I feel trapped, confused and disorientated, that I'm trying to do a jigsaw puzzle without all the pieces._

That had been when they had been interpreting dreams with the dream book. In fact, that 'vision' of what would happen was very similar to what Trelawney read in his tea leaves not too long ago.

"_Ah, Toushirou, let's see what your tea leaves tell us today." Professor Trelawney sat herself down next to him, picking up the tea which he had willingly drunk... They had long since moved on from interpreting dreams, and were now reading the soggy leaves at the bottom of the small, china cup..._

"_Hmm... This is very interesting..." He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Does that mean I'm going to die?_

"_Hmm, from the looks of it... you will find kindness and love from an unexpected source... and you will be hit with the revelation that... what you thought you knew is actually incorrect." She placed the cup down to gauge his reaction, and if he had been somebody else he might have looked surprised, trying to come up with _how_ she had gotten that from the soggy mess. However, he wasn't just _any_ person, he was Hitsugaya Toushirou, and so his face remained emotionless, even though he felt like hitting his head in frustration – this class was so useless!_

On both occasions it had implied that he was ignorant of some details, and that the details he did have were wrong. _But what details are wrong and which ones are right?_ How was he to tell whether what he was doing was right or not?

"_What can Voldemort do to regain his body if he can't use his father's bones?" Sirius shrugged non-committedly._

"_Well, one suggestion was put forward that he may try to tie his soul into an artificial body – but that's ridiculous! Magic hasn't progressed nearly far enough to make a realistic human body!" He barked with laughter, before quickly silencing himself so as not to wake anyone else up._

The conversation from the previous night invaded his mind, and while he couldn't immediately see its relevance in the grand scheme of things, he knew that everything that was flying through his mind – including that conversation – all added up to something which he couldn't see right at the moment; to say it was frustrating would be an understatement.

_None of it makes any sense! How did Voldemort even learn about gigai in the first place – if that's even what he's trying to achieve? No, Snape was the one who mentioned it, so Voldemort may have no clue as to what a gigai is, but if that was the case how does Snape know? Unless he wasn't even referring to a gigai! I just don't underst-_

"If you think that hard than you'll make a vein pop, or something."

"But that's ok, because we have a cure that'll fix it up in no time!"

"Unless you want something that'll make it worse-"

"-to help you get out of class." One twin sat on either side of him, smiling their identical, Cheshire cat grins, effectively breaking his concentration.

"I have already told you in the past that I do not want to buy anything from either of you – or anyone else that you may hire to try and sell something to me; I will not buy one of your products. Now, if that's all you want, than please leave."

"You know Toushirou, you need to lighten up."

"Live a little."

"Smile."

"Have fun."

"Be merry."

"Loosen up."

"Relax-"

"I think I get the picture." If he hadn't stepped in than he knew the two of them would have gone on for hours; they were so annoying, and he knew they had made it their mission to annoy him as much as they can.

"Are you sure?"

"Because I'm pretty sure we could have thought up some more things."

"I have no doubt that you would have." His tone was bordering on frustration, and he felt the telltale signs of a headache coming on – too much intense thinking and being pestered by pests could do that to you.

"It's almost Christmas – you bought us a present yet?" His eyebrows drew down into a frown.

"Why would I buy you a present?" The twins shared an incredulous look.

"Because it's Christmas!"

"So?"

"You give presents at Christmas time – and because you're staying with us, as a guest, it would be rude not to buy you something." _Are they being serious?_ He hadn't even thought about buying something, but now that they said it would be rude not to get something it did make sense in his mind. _What would I get them? What kind of things do you buy for Christmas?_

He tried to think back to all the Christmas's he had experienced – which was quite a few now that he thought about it – and tried to remember the things he had received. In Soul Society Christmas wasn't generally celebrated, it was more of an excuse to stop working than an actual holiday, but Kurosaki had been into the whole festive thing, and so had always given a gift no matter what. Things had ranged from completely useless – like a weird, ugly ornament he had gotten one year – to things only mildly useless – like the deck of cards.

However, this didn't exactly help him in figuring out what you could buy for someone, because he had long suspected that Kurosaki just picked up the first thing he saw when buying presents, because he had to buy so many of them.

"Wow Toushirou, don't think so hard about it!"

"Yeah, it's just Christmas – just get whatever."

"Hn."

"Anyway, the real reason we're here is that mum said it was dinner time." And with that they left running down the stairs, laughing about how they had gotten so distracted. _Christmas is pointless and a waste of money, why should I even buy anything for these people – I don't know any of them except Harry and Ron, and I don't like either of them. _

Standing up slowly, Toushirou moved to the door, his hand resting on the knob for a moment. _Why am I even here?_ That question had been plaguing him since he was invited; he knew he was there _because_ he was invited, and he had accepted said invitation, but why had he been invited in the first place? Sirius seemed nice enough – that was his initial impression, anyway, and so could be wrong – but he didn't seem like the type to just blindly invite random people to his house.

_Why is it that I seem to be getting more and more questions and no answers?_ With a sigh he pushed all his unanswered questions to the back of his mind while he went to dinner.

* * *

Harry lay in bed looking up at the cracked ceiling, a small part of his mind desperately hoping that the entire roof won't break and fall on him – even though he knew that it couldn't possibly happen, no matter how much the house looked to be in disrepair. Christmas was almost upon them, and Hermione would be arriving soon.

He had already bought all his presents before the school term had ended, but now he was debating on whether to buy Toushirou a present. He hadn't been aware that the boy was coming, and it would look really bad if he had gotten everyone else a present and not Toushirou – not that he was expecting a present from the boy.

With a sigh he mulled the question over a bit longer, unsure of the answer. _What would I even buy a person like that? Maybe a knife, to make killing me easier,_ he thought humourlessly. _But seriously, I don't know the first thing about him; I guess the safest bet would probably be a pair of socks or something; it would be cheap too._

_What are you doing Harry?_

_I'm thinking of what to buy Toushirou for Christmas._

_I can see that, but why? What could you gain from giving him a material item?_

_You don't gain things at Christmas – you give things. And I guess it would be a nice thing to do..._

_Wrong! Don't be such a fool you stupid child! Why would you get him something when you're just going to kill him anyway?_

_Hmm... I guess I forgot about the whole 'killing' thing._

_That would explain why the deed is not yet done. Stop procrastinating Harry! In fact, go and do it right now._

Harry's eyes widened at the command; he couldn't kill Toushirou right now! For starters, it was only seven days until Christmas, and a death would completely ruin the mood, and also almost everyone seemed to have taken a liking to the boy for some odd reason. Sirius had even said earlier that night to Harry that he thought Toushirou was 'a nice boy; strange, but very nice'.

There would only be a limited amount of suspects in the house, and it wouldn't take long for everyone to figure out it had been him, the Great Harry Potter, The Boy Whole Lived, who had _killed_ a boy who was foreign in this country. _What would everyone think? What would Sirius think? They would all be so disappointed and disgusted; I would be turning out just like Voldemort if I resort to killing all my enemies._

_Harry, he isn't just any enemy; he is completely deadly, and will not hesitate to kill you when he is given those orders by Voldemort. What does it matter what Sirius and everyone thinks when they realise that you performed an heroic deed by slaying a servant of the enemy, and thus weakening their forces. Harry, I'm you, so trust me on this and go perform the deed._

The voice in his head was right; it had never led him wrong in the past, and so why stop following it now?

_You're right._ He was only dimly aware that his feet had swung around to land softly on the floor until he was standing upright out of his bed sheets, the cold floor seeping up his legs through the soles of his feet. He crept as silently as he could to the door and opened it, hoping that it wouldn't creak.

It seemed as though luck was on his side for once, and the door slide silently forward before he eased it closed again, but not completely shut so he could return as silently as he left.

_A weapon; I'll need a weapon. What should I use?_

_What about the knife you took from the kitchen after dinner and hid under the rug outside your room?_

Harry frowned; he didn't remember doing that. But as he knelt down he could feel the slight bulge which suggested there was something beneath it, and moving the rug aside he saw the moonlight glinting off the metal blade of the sharp knife that Mrs Weasley used to cut the meat.

Moving forward again, as silently as was possible, he could only hope that he didn't run into anyone, because he had a feeling it would be impossible to be able to explain why he was up in the middle of the night, creeping along the hallway like a serial killer, with a sharp knife clutched so tightly in his hand that his knuckles were turning white.

His heart was pounding wildly in his chest, and he knew that Toushirou would be able to hear it; he was normally such a light sleeper.

When he reached the smaller males door he hesitated; he couldn't do this!

_Yes you can Harry, you just need confidence in yourself; believe that you can and you will be able to accomplish this small task._

Taking a deep breath he eased the door open, thanking whatever God there may be that the door made no noise, and stole into the room, making sure to only stand on carpeted floor, and not the wood panelling beneath; he couldn't guarantee that the wood wouldn't make a noise. He reached Toushirou's bed, and surprisingly the boy was still asleep, his breaths making no noise as they exited through his slightly parted mouth.

It looked as though he was in the clutches of a vicious nightmare, and at the present moment he just looked so incredibly vulnerable and young, and Harry knew he would be unable to slay someone who looked like that. Looking at the boy at that moment he didn't even look evil; he merely looked lost, confused, scared and vulnerable to the world around him.

_Do it Harry._

_I can't._

_Do it._

_No, I can't do it._

_Do it!_

_No!_

_Do it now!_

_I can't!_

_Yes, you can! NOW DO IT!_

The voice roared mightily in his mind, and he found his hand rising off its own accord, even though he tried with all his might to lower it back to his side. He just wanted to go back to his warm, toasty bed and forget that this even happened at all – he didn't want to become a murderer! _No, I don't want this! Toushirou, wake up!_

He leant forward slightly and started to bring the knife down straight so that it would ram straight through the boy's heart; an instant kill if he could hit the right spot. Things seemed to be happening in slow motion as his hand slowly arched downwards with a slight flick of the wrist to increase the power behind his thrust. His eyes widened in horror at the realisation of what he was about to do, but it was as though he was a passenger in his own body, and so could do nothing to prevent the events which were already set in motion.

Just as the pierced through the material of Toushirou's shirt – and though he wasn't sure, Harry could have sworn he felt it passing through skin – eyelids fluttered open to show two extremely alert teal eyes, and suddenly everything was no longer in slow motion. Toushirou brought his hand around and grasped Harry's, effectively preventing the knife from going any further – _damn, he's got a strong grip!_ – while his other hand swung around and shoved Harry away.

The raven haired teen lost his balance and stumbled, losing his grip on the knife which cluttered to the ground, with the sound muted by the carpet. When Harry looked at the boy who he had intended to kill, he saw that Toushirou was now crouching on the edge of his bed, staring intently down at Harry, his muscles tensed as though waiting for another attack. Neither of them spoke for the longest time while Toushirou crouched and Harry remained on the ground. Surprisingly, it was Toushirou who broke the silence first.

"Harry..." Said boy didn't respond, suddenly too ashamed to meet the intense stare which held him captive.

"What are you doing in here?" Toushirou waited patiently for an answering, though he didn't really need one – it was pretty obvious as to the boy's intentions. Harry remained stubbornly silent, which caused Toushirou to sigh. Even though he kept his muscles tense, Toushirou cautiously moved from the bed to the ground so that he was level with the other boy.

"Why did you try to kill me?" He asked the question in the same tone of voice that a person would use to enquire about the weather, and the uncaring tone was what finally drew Harry's gaze up from the very interesting ground to meet the teal eyes.

"I'm really sorry Toushirou, I didn't mean to-"

"Yes you did, otherwise you wouldn't have gone to all the effort of sneaking around, or even thinking of a plan to begin with. You very much intended to kill me, and I want to know why." Harry gulped slightly. Toushirou was keeping his tone level and quiet, but there was an underlying tone of menace which was masked by the uncaring tone, the menace instantly making him want to spill out all his secrets.

"I... I don't really know why..." Toushirou sighed.

"Harry, do you think I'm so much of an idiot that I won't recognise when you're lying to me? Do not insult me."

"I... You're... I guess... I thought... You'reavoldemortsupporter!" Hitsugaya blinked his eyes a few times.

"What?" There was no way he would be able to decipher that incomprehensible gibberish.

"Y-You're a Voldemort s-supporter!" Out of all the answers Toushirou had been expecting to hear that had not been one of them; he'd only learnt of who Voldemort was the night before from Sirius! He let out a small laugh, which completely confused the scarred teen.

"Listen Harry, I may be many things, but I can assure you one hundred percent that I do not work for, nor support, 'Voldemort'. Now, I'm quite tired, and I'm sure you probably are to, so can we finish this discussion in the morning? I promise I won't tell any else about what happened either." His casual tone helped to put Harry's mind at ease, as did his promise, and it was with a reluctant nod that he stood up and went to the door.

"Toushirou, I'm really, really sorry about this. W-We'll talk about it tomorrow then." And with that he left the room. As soon as the door clicked shut behind Harry the light-hearted and casual expression left Toushirou's face, a deep frown taking its place. It was impossible under normal circumstances for Harry to have snuck up on him like that, and when he had first opened his eyes and saw the boy he had been unable to sense any reiatsu coming from him, which would explain why Toushirou had not detected him.

Moving his shirt he looked at the area just above his heart, where there was a small nick in the skin, with a few drops of blood oozing out of it slowly; Harry had hit his skin before he had even reacted to the threat – what did that mean? He knew he wasn't losing his touch, but he refused to believe that Harry was that proficient in assassinations, meaning either he had been taught assassination skills, or he was being controlled by someone who had them; Toushirou decided that he would go with the latter.

_Well, this complicates things, doesn't it?_

* * *

Responses to Reviews:

Sapphire Insanity: You are completely welcome ^^ Yeah, I guess I can see the two of them as friends - what a strange and whacky friendship that would be XD

animeloveramy: lol, I'm building the suspense ^^ Thank you XD I sometimes try to get character's as close as possible, but I find it really hard when I actually concentrate on trying to make them right - weird, huh - so your comment was greatly appreciated XD I love it when other people like my writing XD

FullmetalKeyblade-13: lol, I got like 12 reviews or something for my last chapter, so I was happy XD I know, just the image of Hitsugaya fighting with a painting was hilarious so I had to out it in XD Aw, thanks - I try to keep it interesting, though sometimes it doesn't feel like it, though I'm usually happy with the end result of the chapters XD I understand what you're saying with the 'two camera' thing to answer my question - that actually seems like a good way to do it ^^ I loved reading your review; it was so long -which is a good thing ^^

DXmaryoOD: You are amazing XD Did your pyschic powers tell you that I was posting this chapter? Aw, don't be sad - a new chapter will be out soon, so it'll be like you never had to stop (though we both know that you did...) XD

Soupcan: That does answer my question - all the responses I got were so interesting to read; the mind is a funny thing XD I personally don't actually think about it at all, it just... happens XD Thanks for the review ^^

deathnoteno1fan-codegeasslover: lol, maybe I can arrange something... XD Thanks for the review XD

Snake and Crane: Ha, school! XD I'm on holidays at the moment ^^ And yes, I am quite alright, thank you for asking XD This chapter was posted within the month as well (just XD 28 days after the last one) I got your hint, and here is the new chapter ^^ Ooh a puppy! And rainbows! And hugs! Yay! I feel so lucky right now XD No, thank you for your awesome reivew ^^

NimayTheAirbender: Thank you! I think I tend to visualise fights more anime style as well, though I can't be sure until I do another fight scene XD

O hai: I'm glad you like my story, it makes me so happy to read your review XD

Furionknight: Thanks for the reivew XD

Lady Queria: Oh yeah, I get what you mean XD That's probably the same with me, because my mind knows that one is anime and the other is real, and when I think of the two they're what they're meant to b, but when they interact with each other, they seem to blend together, if that makes sense - though it should 'cause it's pretty much what you wrote XD When I read your comment about coffee I'm like 'I don't remember talking about coffee' so I had to read my previous review response, and it all made sense XD I haven't tried it, but I love cappuccinos, so I'll try it when I can ^^ Ah, the hype is building, I just hope I don't disappoint with it - i'll just have to pull out all the stops to make it as awesome and epic as I can XD 'The Confrontation Scene'... it has such a nice ring to it XD I think I shall dub it the confrontation scene and make the name official XD

Bokmal14: Thank you for the review ^^


	18. Chapter 16

Wow! 5 days! It has only been 5 days since I last updated this story - are you all happy? I know I am XD Thanks to everyone who reviewed, and hopefully I can get another chapter out in under a week XD

* * *

Chapter 16

Harry woke the next morning with a splitting headache, which felt like no amount of painkillers would be able to alleviate it. Also, his mind seemed fuzzy and not working as well as it could be, which was strange. _Am I coming down with something?_ Pulling himself out of his warm bed his feet set themselves down on the floor, and he got the weirdest sense of de ja vu, which he instantly shook off; it was probably nothing.

Down in the kitchen he wasn't surprised to see only a few people up – it was pretty early in the morning after all – but thankfully one of the people up was Mrs Weasley, so breakfast was already on the table for him. The meal was uneventful as he thoughtfully chewed on a piece of bacon hanging absently off the end of his fork, in dire danger of falling off completely. _I feel as if there was something really important I needed to remember this morning, but I can't think of what it is..._ The thought continued to nag at the edge of his mind, diverting all his attention away from the food and onto his inner thoughts. The door to the kitchen opened at that moment, something surprising considering the hour, and Harry looked up in time to see Toushirou walking through the door.

It was as though seeing the white-haired boy triggered a memory deep within his mind, and suddenly images of the previous night rushed back into his mind. He hadn't even been aware of the small, strangled noise he had made in the back of his throat until those intense, unique eyes landed on him, piercing through his soul.

"Harry, can I talk with you a moment?" His tone was conversational, making the few in the room think that it would just be a pleasant conversation between two school-mates, rather than an interrogation between a near-victim and his almost murderer.

"S-Sure." Toushirou turned on his heel and left through the partially opened door, Harry following behind like a lost puppy. The shorter boy didn't stop until they had reached Toushirou's room, where he promptly shut the door behind himself, to ward off any nosy listeners; though why Toushirou's room was the best place to talk Harry had no idea. Toushirou continued towards the bed, setting himself down on the warm covers, which were still unmade, making it clear that he had only just gotten up – either that or he was lazy, and Harry was leaning more towards the former idea.

"So..." The word was drawn out, leaving an opening for Harry to jump in with an explanation, something the boy opposite was dying to hear. The scarred teen took his time dropping to the thick, maroon rug, moving around slightly to get comfortable in the strange material which it was made from. _I wonder if it was made magically, or if it was made normally. Then again, this _is_ Sirius's house, so it was probably magically made._

"Harry." The sharp, bordering on impatient, tone snapped the boy's head straight up, and he appeared slightly guilty as he realised he had allowed his thoughts to wander. Taking a small gulp of air, to clear his throat, he gazed down at the interesting rug, his eyes still unable to meet the other boy's.

"I don't know what you want me to say Toushirou... I-I'm sorry." A light sigh was heard, though he didn't dare move his gaze away from the rug to look at him.

"I want you to tell me what was going through your mind when you woke up and decided to kill me. I know that we've had our differences in the past, and that we aren't on the best speaking terms, but that is no excuse to attempt murder." His voice remained cool and collected, much like it had the night before, because he realised that it would make the scarred teen talk easier than if the environment was more hostile. However, he could feel his patience waning with every second that they talked; the boy seriously couldn't be so stupid as to not realise what Toushirou wanted! And then to have the gall to speak in a tone as thought to say 'why are you harassing me? I've done nothing wrong!' It was infuriating to say the least.

"I told you last night, I thought that you worked for Voldemort!"

"And so you go around murdering anyone and everyone you believe, in your own messed up mind, is working against you with your arch nemesis? How many other people have you attempted to kill? No, how many people have you actually killed?" Harry blanched at his words, his skin visibly paling, and Hitsugaya could have hit himself for allowing his mouth to run away with him; this was not how the conversation was meant to be going.

"I-I've never k-killed, or even t-tried to kill anyone... before-"

"Harry, look, I'm sorry; I shouldn't have said those things-"

"No! You're completely right! This is so unlike me; I'm not a murderer! Oh God, Toushirou, I don't deserve your forgiveness-" When did he say he forgave the boy? "-but I am so, so, so sorry - words cannot even describe it! When will it end? When I was standing over you I so badly wanted to pull away, to go back to bed, but there was a small part of me that kept saying 'do it, you know you want to; you know you have to'. This voice... I-it w-won't leave me a-alone! I think I'm going crazy!" By this stage Harry had clutched his head in frustration as he tried furiously to keep the tears from falling out of his heavy, water-laden eyes.

Hitsugaya had jumped up and was standing next to him, a deep frown marring his face; he had no idea what to do in this situation – what was there to do? It wasn't like he could just pat him on the back and say 'there, there, it'll be fine', because it _won't_ be fine. In fact, this information was incredibly disturbing, because if what he had figured out last night about an assassin controlling his movements was correct, than who was to say that this assassin wasn't in the scarred teen's head?

After a few moments the wracking dry-sobbing dulled down to a few sharp intakes of breath, before stopping altogether. Harry slowly sat up and scrubbed his wrist over his eyes, even thought they were bone dry, on the off chance that he had allowed a tear or two to slip through.

"A-are you ok?" Hitsugaya's voice was hesitant and uncertain, as though he was afraid that the boy would fly completely off the rails, too far-gone to be pulled back to reality. Harry could only manage a pathetic nod in his direction, his face angled away so Toushirou was unable to see his expression.

"Harry, I don't blame you for what happened; if I was in your position, constantly afraid of being killed in my sleep by unknown people, than I can't say I wouldn't have acted the same way." _And with a lot better success rate, _however, he didn't voice that thought aloud – there was no point scaring the boy again.

"Don't make excuses for my actions Toushirou, it was cowardly to try and kill you in your sleep, when you're at your most vulnerable. Even if I believed you to have been working for Voldemort, I should have talked to you first; or even somebody else, like Dumbledore." Hitsugaya's eyes widened slightly in shock, at the thought of the suspicious headmaster even getting a whiff of Harry's accusations; it would have made life a lot harder for him, that was for sure. Luckily Harry had his head turned and so missed the changing of expressions, and by the time he was facing Toushirou again the ex-captain had schooled his expression into one of indifference.

"Can I ask you something Toushirou?"

"Hn." He took that as a yes to continue.

"Why did you act so casually to your near death? I mean, you could have died-" _As if!_ "-yet you continued to talk as though the worst that had happened was that the weather had turned sour and you couldn't go outside anymore. Why is that?" That_ is the best analogy that he could come up with?_

Suddenly the question registered in his mind, and he looked thoughtfully at Harry, without actually seeing the boy. It was a good question, one that he hadn't even thought of. His first response to the situation was to make sure that Harry remained calm, and that he didn't become mentally unstable due to shock; never once did it register that there was a small inkling, so small it wasn't even worth mentioning, that he might have died – Harry's wellbeing had been placed first. Had he become so desensitized to death, and the fear that he could die at any moment, that he no longer cared for his own death?

Was it just a means to an end which he had constantly been working towards this entire time? Being a shinigami his views on death were always going to be a little different to a human's views on death, but that didn't mean that most shinigami didn't fear it – in fact some were so scared at the prospect of death that they would do anything to continue to live. _Like Aizen._ He used to be part of that large majority who feared death to a certain degree, but now he wasn't too sure.

Even just thinking about dying, about finally ending his existence, he was unable to bring up even a tiny bit of sad emotions. _I could die in the next instant; would I even care? What morbid thoughts these are..._

"Toushirou?" The hesitant whisper brought him out of his thoughts, and remembered that he was meant to be answering a question for Harry. _Those thoughts were irrelevant; it was probably because being a captain means putting everyone else first._ However, he couldn't stop thinking that there may be some truth to his previous thoughts.

"Because in these kinds of situations the best thing for everyone to do is to remain calm, and I thought the best way to do that would be to keep my voice as calm and level as I could." His eyes instantly recognised the brief flash of horror cross Harry's face, his eyes narrowing in confusion.

"How many times have you been in this 'kind of situation'?" _Damnit!_

"I haven't, this would be the first time, but I'm no idiot, nor am I illiterate. Firstly, common sense would tell anyone with a brain that the last thing to do is panic and make a bad situation worse with badly chosen words, and if all common sense failed I would be able to fall back on the knowledge provided to me through a multitude of detective and murder-themed novels."

It was obvious that Harry bought the smoothly spoken reply, said without even the slightest hesitation, and Hitsugaya would have applauded his own performance if it wouldn't have raised suspicion.

"Oh..." An awkward silence descended upon them, neither knowing what to say to the other, though there were still a few things that needed to be said.

"Why don't you like me?" Hitsugaya frowned at Harry's question.

"When did you ever get the impression that I didn't like you?" Harry fiddled with the rug between his fingers, not looking up. _Can he get any more angsty?_ With a sigh Hitsugaya sat down on the rug as well, not being bothered to walk all the way back to the bed.

"Well, you're always so cold, and we had that fight when making Dumbledore's Army, and then we had that fight when we were in the meeting for the DA. Also, I just get that feeling sometimes whenever I'm around you." Harry was a lot more perceptive than he had given him credit for.

"I don't... dislike you Harry, but there are times when I don't like you either; but that's normal – you can't like someone all of the time."

"That's not true."

"Can you honestly tell me that you have never had a fight with either Ron or Hermione, and as a result you temporarily disliked them? It's impossible to stay on good terms with people all of the time; it's human nature to fight."

"I guess... But I feel as if we fight more than most." _Who cares?_

"Harry, I don't know what you want me to say." Harry's words echoed back through his mouth, and he couldn't contain the small, wry smile as he said them.

"I don't know... Maybe... Maybe we should be friends?" Hitsugaya frowned at the boy opposite him who had suddenly looked up with a weird, demented sort of hope shining in his eyes; it was very off-putting, and he had no idea why Harry suddenly had changed all his ideas on him.

"Um... Sure?"

"Great! Well, I've gotta get dressed now, c'ya later Toushirou!" Harry jumped up so fast that Toushirou was surprised he didn't damage himself, and was out the door before another word could be said.

As Harry ran down the halls to his room a smile came on his face. He didn't believe for one second a word of what Toushirou said about him not being a servant of the Dark Lord. _Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer._ There was no way that he would let the white-haired boy out of his sight in these holidays; he wouldn't give him the chance of slipping away to report to Voldemort.

Toushirou had no idea what was wrong with Harry – one moment he was sobbing on the ground and the next he was asking to be friends. _The kid's crazy, that's for sure._ He had only just left his room, his back to the hall as he closed the door, when he felt the very person dominating his thoughts appear beside him.

"Hi Toushirou! Let's do something today; maybe we could go shopping for Christmas presents – I remember Ron saying that he needed to do that, so it would be a good bonding activity between the three of us, now that we're all friends and all."

"Uh, ok." Hopefully whatever had come over the boy would pass, because it was slightly... unnerving to see him acting this way.

"Cool, I'll just tell Ron; want to come with me to tell him?"

"No thank you, I'm fine."

"Tell who what?" The familiar head of red hair was the first thing Toushirou saw of the boy and he could have groaned, though he restrained himself.

"Hey Ron; we were just talking about how we're going to go Christmas shopping – you wanna come?"

"Yeah, I've been meaning to do that for ages, but... Harry, can I talk with you a moment?"

"Sure, what's up?"

"I meant... privately." He didn't make eye contact with Toushirou as he said this, which made it clear what the subject of conversation would be. Harry bobbed his head in agreement.

"Wait here, we'll be right back." The two boys left the hallway and ducked into the first empty room they came across. As soon as the door was closed Ron turned to face his best friend.

"Harry, what's going on? Why are we going shopping with Toushirou." Harry frowned in indecision – should he tell Ron about the previous night? _No, what would he think of me?_

"Well... We were talking earlier, and I came to the conclusion that if we want to make one hundred percent sure that he won't do anything bad – like contact Voldemort – than we need to be around as much of the time as possible." Ron's face paled, making the vivid red freckles stand out.

"You mean we need to hang around him?"

"It won't be so bad when Hermione gets here; she's always acting as a mediator anyway. It'll be fine."

"If you say so Harry; I really hope you're right about this." The boy sounded unconvinced that anything good would come out of this – for all they knew Toushirou would lead them straight into Voldemort's clutches – but he trusted his friend, and he would follow him to the ends of the Earth he if he had to.

"Thanks Ron." They left the room to return to where they had left Toushirou, and surprisingly the shorter boy was still standing there, leaning against the wall with his arms folded, his constant frown on his face as he concentrated on something.

"When do you want to leave?" Without moving a muscle to look at them, or even to make an attempt to stand up straight, he answered.

"I don't care; whenever is good for the both of you I suppose."

"Great! Let's go now!"

"Bloody hell, you're impatient this morning Harry! I think I want to get some breakfast first."

So, after a very long, drawn out breakfast, the three boys found themselves walking down muggle London, grey clouds covering the sky. A light layer of fluffy, white snow rested on the ground, crunching underfoot with every step they took. Ron and Harry were making light conversation, laughing like old friends, and Toushirou felt like an outsider – much like he did the night before when he watched the two play wizard's chess. A strange feeling enveloped his mind as he lost himself in his thoughts; what was that feeling?

He had felt it the night before as well, but had been unable to identify it. However, now as he concentrated on it with all his mind, rather than just half concentrating on it like he had been doing, he was able to realise what it was, and this revelation caused him to stop in his tracks, frowning.

Harry and Ron were a few steps in front when they first noticed that they had lost the shorter boy, and Harry's mind instantly went into panic mode, which than calmed when they turned around to see him just standing there, glaring at the snow.

_It's impossible! I must have read my emotions incorrectly; Matsumoto always said I was no good at interpreting them anyway. I can't... I can't be jealous of their friendship – that's just absolutely ridiculous to even consider it! Why would I want friendship? Who needs friends anyway?_

"You coming?"

"Hn." He walked forward to join up with the two, missing the look exchanged between the friends over the top of his head as he concentrated on walking forward.

The morning went by quickly as they window shopped and openly gawked at the impressive looking items with the equally impressive looking price tag, but by lunch time none of them had anything to show for all the walking they had done except, in Ron's case, a sore toe; apparently it was _not_ the best idea to kick a fire hydrant.

They sat down out the front of an ice-cream parlour, trying to decide on what to buy with their money while still having enough to buy presents; Harry didn't have this problem as he had already bought everything he wanted to buy.

"This has been fun!" Harry smiled at his own enthusiasm, while Ron grinned back – he was having a ball in muggle London, a place he didn't usually go to.

"Can I get you guys anything?" A pretty waitress smiled sweetly at them as she waited for their orders, a notepad in one hand and a pencil in the other.

"Can we have three triple choc swirl sundaes with extra flake pieces."

"Sure thing, it'll be here soon." Hitsugaya had been zoning out to think, but when Harry ordered for him it brought him back to reality.

"I never said that I wanted that – it's probably extremely unhealthy and will rot your teeth out."

"Oh come on Toushirou, lighten up – I'm sure your teeth won't fall out from eating this just this once. And plus, it's too late 'cause I already ordered."

"Hn." With a disinterested sigh he looked up at the sky again, the colour of grey only deepening as the morning progressed. _It's going to snow again._ He was only vaguely aware of a sundae being placed down in front of him – turns out it didn't taste too bad – as he mindlessly picked up the spoon to eat the cold treat. His eyes roamed around the crowd of people going about their daily lives. Suddenly something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye, and he turned his to look at it.

'It' turned out to be a quaint little shop nestled between a large bookstore and a take-away shop, though it didn't have any markings to show what goods it sold. However, the place seemed to call to him, enticing him to come take a look inside. Mumbling something that he couldn't remember to Harry and Ron – probably something about going to the bathroom – he stood up and walked away from them towards the shop, losing himself in the crowd so it was impossible for the curious boys to know where he had went.

A bell tinkled lightly as he stepped into the oddly cool store front, which appeared deserted – though it was still very clean. Walking through the interior he couldn't immediately place why he had felt so drawn to this place.

From the looks of it the place sold ornaments, and while they did seem quite beautiful, he wasn't really looking for this kind of thing. _Maybe I can find Hermione something nice here._ He had absolutely no idea what to buy any of the Weasley's – maybe he could find something for Mrs Weasley and Ginny as well.

Suddenly, when he got to the middle of the centre shelf he knew the reason why he had felt drawn to this place – the thing was the perfect gift! On the shelf sat a beautiful, handcrafted golden lion made from blown glass. It was regal and proud, as the king of the jungle should be, with its head held high and its mane glossy. It was amazing to see how much emotion and detail could be put into such an ornament. Also, around the torso of the lion, extending slightly up its neck was a vivid green snake of the same blown glass, its red eyes flashing viciously as it attempted to squeeze the life out of the proud, golden lion. _I've seen something like this before; it was a symbol..._

It took him a moment to see where he had seen this ornament before; in fact, it hadn't been the ornament that he had seen but a picture of the same thing – a symbol of a lion with a snake wrapped around its body... _The symbol for Aizen's army!_ It couldn't be mere coincidence that he should find this here. However, if he looked closely, the lion in the ornament looked as though it was holding out against the snake, though the lion in Aizen's symbol appeared to be beaten by the vicious reptile.

A slight change in the air pressure alerted him to the arrival of a newcomer – most probably the store owner trying to scare him – and so he was prepared when the hand lightly tapped him on the shoulder.

"Can I help you with something young man?" The old, wizened voice scratched on his ears, but he was too distracted by the glass figurine.

"Yes, thank you, I would like to buy this glass figure; how much is it?"

"You want to buy that? Many things have been bought from this store in all the years it's been open, but nobody has even looked at that figure; it's the oldest figure I have in the store – over fifty years old." _Does that mean it will be ridiculously expensive? I can't afford to pay too much for it._

"Was that they only thing you wanted?"

"I'm not sure, I may find something else that I may buy; it's almost Christmas time and so I'm buying presents."

"What a nice boy you are! Well, you look around all you like deary and just come to the front counter when you're done. I'll take this with me and put it near the cash register so you don't accidentally break it."

"Thank you." _What a nice lady._ Wandering around the shop he casually looked at the other ornaments on display – though for some reason nothing had a price tag on them. _I hope I don't get ripped off._ Walking around a little while longer, the time passing by quickly, he finally reached the counter, three other ornaments clutched in his hands for Hermione, Mrs Weasley and Ginny.

Placing them carefully on the counter he watched as the woman reached for them one y one, holding them up to the light in her gnarled hands.

"That'll be 35 pounds dear." His eyes widened in surprise at the price – he had expected things of this quality to cost more than just 35 pounds, but he wouldn't push his luck and say that – he didn't want her to raise the price. Counting out the money he handed to her before picking up the bag with the ornaments delicately wrapped in bubble wrap and then brown paper to make sure that they wouldn't break.

"Thank you." With a small bow – old habits die hard – he left the shop.

"What a nice young man."

Stepping outside Toushirou instantly saw that it had become a lot darker, and light snowflakes had started to fall at some point. Scanning the area he couldn't see Harry or Ron anywhere, and looking at the clock through the window of the ice-cream parlour he found out that he had ditched them almost two hours ago, so they could be anywhere in London by now.

With a sigh he closed his eyes and concentrated on all the Reiryoku around him, trying to find the specific strands belonging to the two teenage boys. It only took a few seconds – he wasn't some insensitive fool like Kurosaki had been – and as soon as he found their strands he moved swiftly in their direction to catch up to them. It turned out that they had made their way to the mall near the centre of London, and here just lazily walking around.

_This place brings back memories_. Walking into the building he remembered his hasty shopping spree for items that he would need at Hogwarts before the train left. _Because of those missed things I had to board the side of the train; I'm glad whatever rumours that were flying around about me died down._ He spotted the vivid red hair first, and immediately made a beeline for it, before arriving next to Ron, who was engrossed with talking to Harry about Quidditch – not that they were using the proper terminology lest a muggle overheard them.

"Is that all you two ever talk about?" Ron jumped nearly a mile into the air, and Harry was startled from what he was saying as they both looked at him surprised.

"Toushirou! Where did you go?" Harry's eyes narrowed in suspicion – ever since the boy had left them at lunch paranoid thoughts had been rolling around in his mind, waiting to burst out. Toushirou looked slightly sheepish, something he never looked, as he held up the plastic bag with the securely wrapped gifts in them.

"I saw this shop, and I just... walked over to it; sorry. It had some pretty good things in it though."

"Well, next time don't walk off without saying something, at least." The shorter boy frowned slightly – he felt as though he was being scolded for doing something wrong, and he did not like that feeling.

"Hn, let's just keep going. Have either of you two bought anything?" Ron nodded enthusiastically.

"Yeah, I found this weird thing that my dad'll absolutely love! What did you say it was called again Harry?"

"A whisk."

"That's right, a whisk; he'll be so excited when he opens it!" _Ron's dad is slightly weird, but that makes it easier to buy something for him I guess._

"I've also bought something for Hermione, Fred, George, Ginny, Mum and... that's all; we'll need to shop a bit more."

"What about you Harry?"

"Well, I've gotten Ron's present and Hermione's, and Mr Weasley's – but he's really easy to buy for – and... no one else." Hitsugaya could tell that Harry's list was longer than what he had said, just from the pause after the word 'and', though it was his business and he wouldn't press him to tell him anything.

As they walked they talked about everything and nothing, and surprisingly he was included in the conversation, and even more surprisingly, he actually willingly joined in. It was almost as if they could forget that they were enemies; forget that they didn't like each other; forget that they weren't actually friends.

The mood was so light-hearted and happy that they almost didn't want to leave – though none of them would admit it – because that would mean going back to the way things normally are between them; that strained, stepping-on-egg-shells relationship they had.

"This has been a good day; I'm actually a little surprised at that because I thought that, with our track record, we would have started fighting long before now." Harry finally voiced the thoughts that they all had.

"I agree; but it was a... pleasant day." Harry turned his head and smiled warmly at Toushirou.

"Yeah, but I guess Christmas does that to you." _Is Christmas some kind of magical holiday? Why does everybody care so much about it?_

"Hn." The good mood seemed infectious as Ron grinned goofily in response to Harry's smile, and they both seemed to be elated by the fact that Christmas was just around the corner. _I will never understand it..._ Not that he would need to understand the holiday; it would be done and over with soon enough, and then back to school.

Suddenly Ron cracked up laughing, his face going a brighter shade of red than his hair, tears literally starting to form in his eyes. Harry, too, was laughing, though not to as great an extent as his best friend to try and save even a little bit of dignity.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, me and Harry were just remembering something funny which happened last Christmas holidays at my house; don't worry about it." It was hard to understand the words as he took a breath almost every second due to his laughter, but at the end of the sentence Toushirou felt that weird feeling again, as well as slight exclusion, even though it was completely irrational. _I just want to go home._ Suddenly he stopped walking, the small smirk, which had come across his face in mock ridicule of Ron, slipping away as he stood rooted to the spot.

That thought was completely out of the blue; completely random. _Home._ The word was so foreign in his mind as he tested it out for size; was that the reason why he had been feeling weird around Harry and Ron all afternoon? _How can I long for something I don't have, it's illogical._ It had been a long time since he had given up all roots; given up all connections to the word 'home' after Soul Society had been invaded and wiped out. Suddenly he was bone tired – not physically, but emotionally and mentally, his mind shuddering to a halt as it stopped all processing functions; it needed a rest which it was constantly being denied.

But if he was no longer consciously working to keep away the memories, things that were better left forgotten would surge forth in a tidal wave of feelings, emotions, heartaches, misery, despair, depression; he could feel it starting, closer and closer – what he wouldn't give to just rest, for things to be normal and perfect. But things could never be normal or perfect for him ever again.

"_The brilliant are always doomed to suffer Hitsugaya-kun; it's one of the laws of the universe. And you are about as brilliant as they come, so you shall suffer a world of eternal pain physically, mentally, emotionally, until you are stripped of your very being, your essence which makes you, you; the essence which powers your drive to fight. And then Hitsugaya-kun, then I will swoop in to pick up the pieces to make sure they can never reconnect."_

The words of Aizen Sosuke, the hated traitor to his race, invaded his mind relentlessly. The kind monster was wrong about coming in to pick up the pieces, but Toushirou knew that he was right about the suffering; he couldn't remember the last time his heart hadn't felt constricted and torn, ripped from the bloody mess of his chest to beat frantically on the ground as he tried desperately to reach for it, to get it back. The war had ripped his heart from his body; ripped his very essence from his soul. _Why do I keep fighting? What is there left to gain?_

_Lights shone brightly in front of his vision, blinding him so that he could see nothing. Just out of reach he could hear playful voices, calling to him but he couldn't see them, he couldn't go to them. Almost as fast as the light appeared, it disappeared, dumping him coldly back into reality; back into a dark, damp pit with no light. The smell invaded his nose, setting his senses alight as he tried to get away, but he couldn't move. Where was he? Standing up, his feet making noises on the damp ground which he assumed was covered in moss, due to the furry feeling against his bare skin, he squinted his eyes, to no avail._

"_So you are Toushirou? Hmm, not as impressive as he made you out to be – but I guess I already knew that from the last time we met." Toushirou whirled around, almost losing his footing, but he couldn't pin point the location of the speaker. He sounded as if he was standing right next to him, but at the same time he was miles away. It was very... disorientating._

"_Who are you? And where are you?" A cruel, evil laugh was heard, and the short boy felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up at the presence he was feeling; it felt pure evil. But at the same time the voice sounded slightly familiar, as if he had heard it briefly in passing once before._

_"I'm right here." Toushirou looked to his left and he saw a soft light had appeared, illuminating the man next to him. His eyes widened in recognition and surprise at who it was before him, the memory of their last encounter flickering across his mind's eyes briefly._

'"Well this is interesting to see you here. And who may I ask are you?" Toushirou spun on his heel to face the person behind him. The 'man', if he could be called that, didn't appear to be corporeal, in fact he seemed slightly transparent. His face reminded Toushirou of a snake, and the aura the man exuded was just like the one in the large hall which he had recently exited.

"What do you mean 'who are you?' Who are you?" The man chuckled.

"Who I amis not important in the slightest, and I guess I don't really care who you are; all I want to know is how did you come to be in this dream – it isn't your dream." He didn't understand what the man was saying; his subconscious had already gathered that he was dreaming, though it was still a shock to his consciousness to hear it out loud, but what did he mean that this wasn't his dream?

"This is _my_ dream – I'm the one dreaming after all."

"I guess that is true... But no matter, it's time for you to leave. If I am correct, and looking around I can see that I am, the next location you were about to dream of is particularly traumatic, so I'll leave you to it." The man started to leave, his feet sinking slightly into the floor before solidifying enough to stand on the ground.

"Wait! How do I get out of here?"

"You already are."'

_It had been when Harry had dreamt about Mr Weasley being bitten by that snake; the dream that Toushirou had somehow shared with him._

"_You're that man from before."_

"_Not nearly as dumb as I thought you were; I didn't think you would remember considering it _was_ only a dream."_

"_Who are you?"_

"_You are quite a demanding boy, aren't you?"_

"_Just answer the damn question." Toushirou could feel his anger and impatience rising as the man smirked, a twisted expression on his oddly inhuman features._

"_Who I am is not important. But I do have a... message I would like for you to deliver for me, to the Order of the Phoenix."_

"_I'm not some message boy; send it yourself."_

"_I would, but unfortunately I only have you as a medium. So you will have to do. Now listen closely because I will not repeat myself; it is of uttermost importance that the Order and Dumbledore gets this message as soon as possible." Toushirou sighed in frustration – it didn't look as though he was getting a choice in this, so he might as well listen or he may never get out of this strange pit which he was fairly sure he was dreaming of._

"_The message is:_

_'I shall rise again, from the depths of this accursed hell in which you cast me into; back with a body so powerful, so deadly that you will not know what hit you, and all you shall see as you lay dying the slow, horribly painful death I have in stall for you all, are my eyes – the eyes which you will love, hate, and spend endless nights crying over for those lucky few who are able to delay my judgement of you. _

_Never will the world have known such power as what I have been promised; of what I will gain! But this message is not to send you cowering in fear, nor is it to light the flame of rebellion and determination in your minds and hearts, but to warn and prepare you; allow you time to rally your troops and supporters. At the end of this year I shall rise, I shall have a body, I shall have an army, and I shall fight!'_

_Do you think you can remember all that boy?" Toushirou was wide eyed, his hands slightly clammy at the words – not because they had scared him, but of what they meant, what they represented. He raised his head, teal orbs boring into those snake-like eyes._

"_You're Voldemort?" Said man smirked, not at all surprised that his identity had been found out; in fact he seemed as though it pleased him greatly._

"_Be sure to deliver my message."_

"_And if I don't?"_

"_Then they don't stand a fighting chance; you look as though you already know what they would be up against, of my powerful ally which I have as a trump card up my sleeve. He is very aware of your presence Toushirou, and while he is amused with it at the moment, if you don't deliver this message than you run the risk of making him angry. And when he's angry, he may just... punish someone; someone possibly close to you. So I say one last time – deliver my message, or else! Now I do believe that it is time to wake up Toushirou, good bye."_

"Wait!" His eyes snapped open, and he could hear footsteps running up the stairs. He felt disorientated for a moment as he adjusted to his surroundings, which were very different to the mall in which he had been standing before he met with Voldemort. The door burst open and in came Tonks – the last person he had expected to see – followed by Harry and Ron, who were looking anxious and worried, while at the same time trying to look indifferent.

"Hey Toushi, so you're awake!" He levelled Tonks with an icy glare at the misuse of his name; it was bad enough that he allowed these people to call him by his given name but for them to then twist it was terrible.

"It's _Toushirou_, not Toushi." He said the nickname with contempt dripping from his lips, to show his disgust at the name.

"What happened?" Harry and Ron shared a look.

"We thought you would be able to tell us that. One minute we were walking in the mall, and the next you're just standing there, like a statue. And then... you just collapse." The worry slowly crept into Harry's voice, though he tried to keep it at bay; it would do no good to make the short boy think he cared about his wellbeing.

"Bloody hell mate, you should have seen everyone come running to see if you were ok; it took all our combined efforts to stop them calling an ambulance for you. Good thing you don't weigh much otherwise we might have had a hard time carrying you back here." The fact that he was carried would normally have been utterly humiliating, but Toushirou was too busy thinking about what had happened. How had Voldemort pulled him into that strange dream world, which didn't feel like a dream world at all?

Was it because his mind was susceptible to invasion at that point in time because his mental defences had been weakened? That had to be the answer; it was the only one he could think of and could accept. Suddenly, as though only just remembering Voldemort's message – though it had been on his mind the whole time – he jumped out of bed, throwing the covers off him. He was glad to see that he was still dressed in the clothes he had worn since the morning.

"Woah! Take it easy Toushi, you only just woke up!" He ignored the name as he wobbled slightly on his feet – how long had he been out for? After a few seconds he had his balance corrected and he was moving swiftly to the door.

"What time is it?"

"Uh, it's 6-ish – around dinner time." That was a good time, the Order was probably at the table eating.

"Who's here?"

"There's all the Weasley's – bar Arthur of course, and Charlie and Bill, though you haven't met them – Sirius, Lupin, Mad Eye, Shacklebolt, McGonagall, Snape and Dumbledore. I'm pretty sure that's everyone; why do you ask?" However, Toushirou was already out the door – it sounded like they had a full cast of members in attendance, which was good; they will all want to hear what Voldemort had to say. He was vaguely aware of Tonks, Harry and Ron following him down the stairs as he took the steps two-three at a time until he was on the bottom landing.

The kitchen door was slightly ajar, and merry light spilled from the gap; he almost felt bad about ruining an obviously joyful and happy mood. _These things can't be helped_.

All chatter ceased as Toushirou pushed the door open and strode inside, his three followers finally catching up and entering with him.

"You need to call an Order of the Phoenix meeting." His statement instantly brought the mood down; his tone was incredibly serious and his eyes flickered with determination to deliver his message – and tell them about Aizen if need be, though that was a very last resort. Dumbledore smiled, the twinkle in his clear, blue eyes never fading.

"Did you rest well Toushirou? Perhaps you would like some dinner – it is my understanding that you have not eaten for a few hours?" It was posed as a question rather than a statement, but he ignored it.

"You need to call a meeting." Snape sneered at him.

"And why, pray tell, are you _ordering_ us to call a meeting, may I ask?" His low voice which had the ability to draw out every syllable for dramatic effect was wearing on his nerves – this was damn important, and he would not allow them to make him forget the entire message word for word just because they were delaying him.

"It's extremely important; it's about Voldemort." A visible flinch went through the ranks of the people present, and he knew it was a mistake for saying those words; now no one who was meant to would want to leave as their curiosity would prove too great. Dumbledore gestured to a chair.

"Would you care to sit down Toushirou? Under normal circumstances we would politely request that all non-members-" His gaze drifted over the twins, Ginny and Harry briefly before landing back on Toushirou. "-leave the room, but as you yourself is not a member, it would be mighty unfair, would you not agree?

So please, consider the meeting to have started; what do you know about Voldemort?" Harry's eyes bore holes into the side of his head as he struggled to keep the glare off his face, though it was an uphill battle. Sirius was also looking quite intently at Toushirou; it had not been too long ago that he had to tell the boy about Voldemort, so what could he have possibly dug up in the last day or so worth calling a meeting over? Despite the intense stares, Toushirou appeared quite comfortable in what he was doing and saying.

"In the mall... Everything went black – I suppose that was when I 'collapsed' as you say – but I wasn't unconscious, in fact I was in this... pit of sorts. I could describe it, but there wouldn't be much description as it was quite dark. And then this man appeared – I didn't know who he was, but he said that I needed to give a message to the Order of the Phoenix immediately, or else.

I naturally deduced he was Voldemort, and when I asked he confirmed it." He left out the part before the pit, and the fact that he had recognised the voice; they were irrelevant details in his mind. The faces of the people around the table ranged from surprised, worried, sceptical and confused. However, Dumbledore remained calm, though a storm was raging in those blue depths as his brilliant mind attempted to figure out what this meant.

"What is this message?"

" ''_I shall rise again, from the depths of this accursed hell in which you cast me into; back with a body so powerful, so deadly that you will not know what hit you, and all you shall see as you lay dying the slow, horribly painful death I have in stall for you all, are my eyes – the eyes which you will love, hate, and spend endless nights crying over for those lucky few who are able to delay my judgement of you. _

_Never will the world have known such power as what I have been promised; of what I will gain! But this message is not to send you cowering in fear, nor is it to light the flame of rebellion and determination in your minds and hearts, but to warn and prepare you; allow you time to rally your troops and supporters. At the end of this year I shall rise, I shall have a body, I shall have an army, and I shall fight!' _'"

There was silence as the words sunk in.

"I think it's time that the non-Order members left to go to bed." At Molly's statement loud protests went up about how 'unfair and cruel' it was to allow them to hear the start of the meeting, but Molly would hear none of it, and before too long the doors were closed behind the last of the teenagers, effectively closing in the silence.

"Is that all there is to the message Toushirou?"

"Yes."

"Hmm... It makes no sense; why would he feel the need to warn us of his army when we are already aware of the Deatheaters... unless he isn't referring to the Deatheaters at all, but to a completely new and separate army altogether... Are you sure that was the end of the message?"

"Yes, I'm certain of it." His eyes clouded over slightly as he turned inwards, thinking deeply. _Should I tell them about Aizen? I could pass it off as part of the message. Yes, that's a good idea._ As he was thinking the room became abuzz with whispers and murmurs as they tried to decipher the meaning of the message.

"Wait!" All heads swivelled to face him.

"I do remember something else, now that I think about it... It was mentioned briefly but I feel it may hold some importance in this discussion."

"Get on with it boy, we don't have all night." How he hated Snape's voice at the moment.

"He said something about an all-powerful ally who would help him achieve something, though he didn't say what; I guess he was probably talking about this war. Also, if I remember his words correctly... He said:

'The army of the forgotten souls who roamed the earth, searching for their hearts without success; perfect beings to perform cruel, heartless deeds as they themselves have no heart – wizards are still merely human and so can fall prey to the temptations, lures and fears of humanity.'

Or something like that." He felt that it was pretty convincing – what choice did they have but to believe it? Hopefully Dumbledore wouldn't pick up on the fact that he had made that entire speech up off the top of his head.

"I see... so is that the entire message this time?" Toushirou took a moment to think it over in his head before nodding.

"Yes, one hundred percent certain this time."

"Good; you may go to bed now Toushirou, and thank you for giving us this information."

"You're welcome Sir." He gave a small bow before retreating from the room, leaving the adults looking more worried than what they had been previously.

"What does it mean Albus?" Dumbledore thought for a moment.

"It means... that our friend Toushirou knows a lot more than what he is leading us to believe, if his made up 'quote' is anything to go by."

* * *

Responses to Reviews:

animeloveramy: I can't tell you XD But I can say that Toushirou may or may not reveal himself to one or multiple people (how's that for vague XD)

DXmaryoOD: Well, here's another chapter for you and then you can be happy again XD (But, I guess by the time you read this you'll be sad again :S) I know ay, it would be hilarious though XD

xTKx: Yay, thanks for the review XD I think you may be right about something bad happening when the two Toushirou's meet (I love it when it's bad, but in a good way XD It just adds... drama ^^)

Lady Queria: I think I can solve your mysterious 'soup can' thoughts - one of the people who reviewed is called Soup Can XD Yay, mystery solved XD lol, rolling around going lalala - don't know why it's funny but it was XD

FullmetalKeyblade-13: Your long reviews would never kill me - in fact that revive me (even though I wasn't dead :S but revive is the opposite to killed, so we'll go with it XD) I know, I couldn't believe that he would eat so much! (It was inspired by my brother, who at the same moment in time that I was writing that part, was actually eating 5 chicken sandwiches XD) I placed it on that day for a reason, though I think I might change my mind as to the reason, but I might not :S Hmm... I know, it made me feel sad too T.T I've already written a few of the end chapters - just for fun (though I don't think I'm close to ending yet XD) and they were really sad, but I might rewrite them - and make them even sadder - wow, I'm really decisive today XD; my sister says I have this weird desensitivity to sad things, because I'll make something 'sad', but then I don't think it is, but apparently it is, or something like that :S I don't, we'll see when we get there whether or not it's sad - I feel as if I'm rambling heaps, so I do apologise XD lol, I did it just to trick you XD Jokes, I accidently uploaded the wrong one XD

Furionknight: Thanks for the review XD I just love reading them ^^

soupcan: Don't worry, that happens to me all the time - wouldn't it be funny if I tried to reply to a review, or you reviewed, without knowing what was going on? That would be hilarious (I might do that next time... XD) Thanks for the review - I laughed so hard when I read your description of what type of unstable Harry is 'Like an eighty-year-old creeper staring at you kind of unstable' lol XD

DishyFishy-SnakeandCrane: Love the new name XD Look, an update in 5 days XD I accept all those hugs, glitters and cookies, thank you for them XD I love getting presents from you for updating ^^ (P.S I read your story and reviewed it XD Though you probably already know that ^^)

xXSweetestXAngelXNightmareXx: Yes he does need to watch out, doesn't he XD Thanks for the review XD

Corisanna: Thanks you for your review XD I hope you got some sleep, and thanks for reviewing even though you tired - I loved reading it, it makes me feel so happy XD

Ziya Hitsugaya: I missed reading your reviews T.T I hope your problems are solved by the end of the week too; stupid thief I hope they catch them

Sapphire Insanity: No Hitsugaya's life can't be on the line! That would be horrible - bad Harry! *angry face* XD


	19. Chapter 17

Wow, it's been a while since I last updated - I think well over two months, but I can't be sure :S All I can say is that I'm really sorry for not updating sooner, but my computer broke, so the only internet I've had has been on my Ipod touch, and that's only good for facebook. I wish I'd gotten my computer fixed earlier in the week, because I wanted to post this on the 20th - but I guess it can't be helped XD Anyways, thanks to everyone who reviewed - it was nice reading all of them at once yesterday when my computer was up and running; the next update will definitely be a lot quicker reaching everyone XD Also, Merry Christmas everyone XD It seems like only yesterday that I was up on Christmas Eve/early Christmas morning posting another chapter, and here I am doing it again this year - man, this year's gone fast! XD So, I hope everyone has an amazing day, and this is my Christmas present to all of you, enjoy XD

* * *

Previously

"What does it mean Albus?" Dumbledore thought for a moment.

"It means... that our friend Toushirou knows a lot more than what he is leading us to believe, if his made up 'quote' is anything to go by."

* * *

Chapter 17

The statement was met with silence as the other adults tried to comprehend the meaning behind the old wizard's words; something which was happening quite frequently of late. Lupin, sitting next to Sirius, raised a hand to his chin, the corners of his eyes crinkling in thought.

"What makes you think he was lying? The message sounded as legitimate as it could, considering the circumstances."

"Ah, yes, it was a cleverly crafted message – very similar to the one which I have no doubt was from Voldemort – but young Toushirou is a very smart boy, is he not?" Lupin remained passive, wondering where Dumbledore was going with this line of thought; hopefully he wouldn't be required to reply as he had no idea of the answer. However, luckily he was saved by Snape, who spoke with his deep tones.

"Indeed the boy is quite intelligent – I have seen it myself on numerous occasions, though I always get the impression that he's holding back just how smart he is – making himself appear dumber if you will – though I cannot imagine a reason for such a peculiar habit." Dumbledore's cool blue eyes twinkled with their perpetual sparkle, as though he was telling a joke, though the corners were pulled taut, hardening the usually soft and open expression; it always seemed that he was frowning when talking about the mysterious white haired child.

"Yes – I too have noticed that, and I have a theory on it – but that is an issue for another time Severus; however, it is true that he's smart with an excellent memory; so why, pray tell, would he forget such an important part of 'Voldemort's' message, even going so far as to adamantly deny any further message before 'remembering' that there was something else? No, Toushirou added that last part himself because he knows something about this entire mess, and he wants us to know that something as well without his association with it being known."

A few murmured whispers flitted around the table, mostly in agreement; it made perfect sense now that they thought about it. A sharp rapping brought all the attention to Mad Eye Moody who had, until now, been sitting quietly and patiently. He allowed his hand to lightly rest back onto the table top, flat rather than in the fist it had been while he knocked on the wood.

"The boy's a damn fine liar, you do need to give him credit, but I think we're all forgetting about a very integral question here: how the hell was Voldemort even able to give him this message in the first place?" The sparkle remained ever present, and even appeared to grow brighter at the rough man's words, as though the headmaster had been expecting that exact question.

"Alas, I do not know, though I would gladly bet that his little fainting spell had something to do with it; though how Voldemort was able to connect with Mr Hitsugaya's mind is still very much a mystery. I guess all we can really do is heed the words of the warning and prepare for the eventual fight."

"But how can we prepare for this fight?" Tonks spoke up, concern edging into her voice as she thought deeply.

"We don't have much to go on concerning the magnitude of the battle – but from the sounds of it, it sounds as though it could just be a full scale war; we don't have the man power needed to fight a war." Her mouth pulled taut in worry, her face an open book of emotions unlike her companions seated around the table. Dumbledore, the most deceptive of them all when it came to emotions, smiled his signature smile, merry fires twinkling within the blue depths of his eyes without a care, as though this was an insignificant thought.

"For now we must assume that Voldemort, also, does not have enough resources for a war – but if I find evidence stating otherwise than we will just have to re-evaluate our strategies, won't we?"

* * *

Toushirou lay on his bed, his ankles crossed with his hands under his head; a pose he usually didn't adopt, but for some reason he felt it the most relaxing, his muscles pulling taut as he stretched out. In a few hours it would be the next day, yet he still didn't feel the oncoming sleep which he was waiting for, his mind remaining too alert for sleep to even be a possibility. Hermione would be over some time the next day, and he would finally be able to feel a bit more comfortable in this foreign house.

_Hmm, Mr Weasley will be here in two days, on the 21__st__ – I wonder what he's like? Wait..._ Suddenly Toushirou sat up right, his back protesting at the sudden and violent movement, before he sank back down to his original position. _Che, why would I even remember something like _that_? It's ridiculous and a meaningless celebration, nothing more._

Pushing aside the unwelcome thoughts which had invaded his mind upon his recollection, he allowed a sigh to pass through his lips. It had been a long and eventful day and he was entirely ready for it to be over. His eyelids felt heavy, the weight pulling them down as the room slowly blurred into oblivion...

_He woke with a start, sitting up straight in the unforgiving chair which he currently occupied. Weak rays of sunlight struggled to pierce through the gloom of his immaculate office, and squinting around the darkness he was able to make out the shapes of his office. Raising a lethargic hand he scrubbed at his eyes to dispel any notions of sleep, fluidly standing up as he did so. Cramped muscles protested at their torturous treatment by being made to sleep in the uncomfortable chair all night, but he could only stretch them to try and work out most of the kinks. _

_A few light chirps sounded outside the dim room, alerting him to the fact that dawn was breaking along the horizon, signalling the start to a new day. However, as he pulled himself out of the chair he was so familiar with he couldn't help but feel slightly disorientated, as though something was off kilter, though he couldn't think of what it could possibly be. As he walked fluidly to the door he couldn't help but glance ruefully back to his desk, where the paperwork he had left unfinished the night before still sat. _A small break and then I'll be back._ With this promise in his mind he opened the door and went through without a second thought, the comforting coolness of the crisp air helping to make him more alert after his slumber. _

_The familiar streets surrounded him as he walked, a clear destination in his mind, though if asked he wouldn't be able to say for certain what that destination was, nor what his purpose was. A small movement to his left caught his eye and Toushirou whirled around, unsure of the sudden anxiety which coursed through his very being as his muscles tensed; however, nothing presented itself, and he forced himself to relax, confused as to why his body had perceived the noise to be a threat._

_Already a few shinigami were up and about, going about their day to day chores, though for some reason a small part of Toushirou's mind was telling him that there was something extremely wrong with their appearances, but in his current state of mind he could pick no fault in the features of the pale, bloody shinigami around him, the smell of death permeating from deep within them. A few greeted him as he moved past, but mostly they kept a respectful distance, acknowledging his rank of captain and steering clear of his path. _

_The sun crept along the sky at an alarming pace, though he didn't notice how wrong the passage of time was, and he soon was situated in front of the Sou Taicho's office – why he was there he did not know, nor why it had taken him so long to reach the building. Placing one hand on the polished wooden door knob he opened the door soundlessly, walking slowly forward as the heavy door swung inwards._

_He stepped over the fresh hold, inexplicably drawn into the dark corridor beyond the room, a small niggling part of his mind telling him that it was wrong, that this wasn't what was supposed to be behind the door. However, he had only taken a few steps forward when the entire world exploded in a dizzying swirl of lights as the ground spun on its axis; he was only just able to catch a glimpse of a surprised youth down the corridor before he was falling down, down, down further than thought possible and then down some more, before he landed painfully on a cold marble floor which received him without forgiveness. _

_The air flew from his slightly parted lips, leaving him breathless as he tried to understand through the thick cloud on his mind what was going on; how had he ended up wherever it was that he now was? Fruitlessly, his mind attempted to connect the dots, but was thwarted as though it hit a brick wall. Toushirou blinked a few times, his teal eyes adjusting slowly to the change in lighting, and he pushed himself up onto his knees, ready to stand, when a voice sounded above him and to the left._

_"I had a feeling your subconscious would guide you back to that corridor, and I must say that you continue to be as predictable as ever, though I must say I want to know why you're so interested in Harry Potter and the contents of that hallway; also, how are you even at Hogwarts in the first place – the last I knew shinigami didn't know about the existence of wizards, and I've gotten no word from my sources that this has changed. So tell me, how do you know about Hogwarts, Hitsugaya-kun?" _

_The suave, deceptively kind voice washed over his senses like icy cold water, freezing his muscles in place, a look of pained surprise etched into his now pale face, the blood draining from his features. Where was he, and what was Aizen talking about? He didn't know anything about a corridor... Except that he had gone to one just now, and he was fairly certain he had been to that place before as well – if only his mind would allow him to think, even if it was just for a moment._

_"Not talking, ne? That proves to be quite troublesome; I must inform you that while you may be dreaming right now, that doesn't mean you won't feel any pain – the mind is an amazing thing, and if it believes itself to be in pain, than it will be." _

_Aizen grabbed Toushirou's chin, forcing his face upwards to lock eyes with cold brown rocks, no emotion or feeling entering them, leaving them dead yet not devoid of life; evil intent oozed from within the eyes he had known most of his life – the same eyes as the kind captain of the fifth division. They had all been blind to not have seen this evil core which was so openly presented before him._

_The strong fingers around his chin tightened as Aizen frowned deeply, confusion marring his perfect face as his mind tried to work out the trick his eyes presented him. Toushirou felt himself be lifted to his feet as Aizen pulled him upwards, the brighter light getting rid of any shadows that may have been cast across his face, so that he could be seen perfectly._

_"How is this possible? Tell me Hitsugaya-kun, how have you aged so much in such a short amount of time since I left your ranks? And don't tell me you have had so much to stress and worry about that it has prematurely aged you, because I won't believe such a ridiculous lie." A cold shiver coursed down his spine at the softly spoken words – how was it that this monster could instil such fear without even changing the tone of his voice?_

_"I have no idea what you're talking about, maybe your memory isn't as good as you thought it to be." He knew he was antagonising a very dangerous beast, but if what Aizen said was true than this was just a dream, so, regardless of what was said, he couldn't be hurt. As though reading his mind the lips of the most dangerous man from all worlds twitched up into a wry smile._

_"I can tell what you're thinking by that determined look on your face, so I think I should clarify a few things; yes, you were dreaming, a dream about Soul Society if I'm not much mistaken, but as soon as you passed through that door into the corridor outside the Department of Mysteries you were no longer dreaming. Well, technically you were, but it wasn't your dream."_

' "Who I am is not important in the slightest, and I guess I don't really care who you are; all I want to know is how did you come to be in this dream – it isn't you dream." He didn't understand what the man was saying; his subconscious had already gathered that he was dreaming, though it was still a shock to his consciousness to hear it out loud, but what did he mean that this wasn't his dream?

"This is my dream – I'm the one dreaming after all."

"I guess that is true... But no matter, it's time for you to leave. If I am correct, and looking around I can see that I am, the next location you were about to dream of is particularly traumatic, so I'll leave you to it." The man started to leave, his feet sinking slightly into the floor before solidifying enough to stand on the ground. '

_The brief memory flashed across his mind, breaking through the fog and his eyes widened – that had been the same corridor as before, the one where Mr Weasley had been attacked! _The Department of Mysteries,_ he thought to himself. _Where is that?

_Amusement flickered across Aizen's face as he watched the facial expressions of the boy in front of him._

_"You remember the last time you were in that corridor?" _If it wasn't my dream that time, than whose dream was it?

' ...he had only taken a few steps forward when the entire world exploded in a dizzying swirl of lights as the ground spun on its axis; he was only just able to catch a glimpse of a surprised youth down the corridor before he was falling down... '

_The person he had seen must be the owner of the dream, but he hadn't been able to look at him enough to be able to tell who it was; if he knew that he would be able to ask the multitude of questions beginning to pile up in his brain._

_"How is it possible that I can dream somebody else's dream?"_

_"As straight forward as ever I see; I can't answer your question." Toushirou glared icily._

_"You can't, or you won't." An infuriatingly superior smile was sent his way, though it wasn't accompanied by an answer, and Toushirou growled lowly in his throat, his glare intensifying._

_"Answer my questions you bastard!"_

_"That really is a short temper; you should fix it. Hmm, I guess you're not as predictable as I thought, because I was sure you would ask where you were now." It was only then that Toushirou realised that he hadn't looked at his surroundings, having been too transfixed on the man in front of him. It was only as he his eyes flitted around him quickly that he noticed the cold atmosphere of the room where so much death had taken place._

_"Las Noches..." He hadn't meant to say it aloud, but the two words rolled quietly from his tongue anyway, making Aizen frown even more. He felt his gaze being roughly jerked back to the centre so he was once more making eye contact._

_"How did you know that's where you were – you've never stepped foot in my palace before." The voice was straining slightly, making his kind voice sound distorted and disfigured, much better suiting his personality._

_"A lucky guess." Before he knew what was happening Toushirou felt himself flying toward the ground, the ring of skin on skin resounding in the room as Aizen backhanded him; he would not put up with such impudent behaviour! The sharp taste of blood assaulted his taste buds, but he ignored it as he defiantly rose to his feet, spitting out the excess blood onto the ground; however, he was a little surprised at the sting which had accompanied the blow._

_"How do I leave this place?" Aizen smirked, and there was no joy in the expression which could have been carved from ice._

_"As I was saying before; you were dreaming, but now you no longer are – your mind is trapped within my own briefly with a very powerful spell, though it won't hold indefinitely. I had been hoping to get some answers – which is still very much my intention – but I had been hoping that there would be no need for any unpleasantness. Unfortunately this is not the case." _

_Aizen stepped forward, and with every heavy footstep closer, Toushirou would take one backwards, in order to get away from this cruel man; he felt very much like a caged animal._

_"Why are you at Hogwarts?"_

_"That's none of your business," he spat out rudely._

_"Wrong answer." Suddenly pain flared in his left thigh, strong enough to make him drop to his knee. Even as he watched, the image of Aizen in front of him flickered and disappeared, like smoke in the wind, and he was only mildly surprised when he sensed his presence beside him. _The power of his zanpakuto?_ His gaze briefly moved down and he was shocked to see blood staining his pants from the deep cut, but he couldn't see any weapon._

_"Why are you at Hogwarts," Aizen whispered the question into his ear, but he defiantly remained silent. Intense pain blossomed in his chest, spreading out along his torso like an out of control bush fire, leaving his senses tingling. His breath deserted him, and he was unable to inhale any more air, the cause instantly becoming clear as he saw the sharp blade protruding from his chest, directly where his right lung was._

_"I will ask you one more time Hitsugaya-kun, why are you at Hogwarts?" _

_"I won't tell you, something no amount of pain will change." A small, humourless laugh sounded outside his vision._

_"Is that so? That sounded very much like a challenge." The sword tore itself free from his body, skin ripping and muscle tearing as it left, but he refused to give in to the pain; he could deal with pain, and he could deal with this. _Wait, I don't have to deal with this!_ Toushirou allowed his body to go limp, just as the sword came whooshing at him, missing his body by a hair. _

_He hit the ground, and as soon as he was parallel with the floor he rolled away from Aizen, who only looked amused at his efforts. Breathing had become a real chore, and a red line marked the floor showing where he had come from, but he was not deterred. When he was far enough away he sprung up to his feet, intending to escape through the large doors only a few steps away._

_However, before he could get through even just two laborious steps he felt his arm being jerked backwards roughly, his chest slamming back into the ground. A heavy boot was placed between his shoulder blades; applying force on the smaller bones and making the small ex-captain grit his teeth in pain to prevent any noises escaping. _

_His wrist was still firmly held in one large hand, pulling his arm back at an awkward, though not particularly painful, angle. _Why am I so weak? I should have been able to fight Aizen, yet I was only able to succumb to his power – why?_ It didn't make any sense to his mind, but he was pulled out of his musings by Aizen's joyful laugh._

_"This is my mind and my world, Hitsugaya-kun, you're as weak as I want you to be." Teal eyes widened in alarm – had his mind just been read? However, he couldn't dwell on this thought because suddenly his arm was being pulled up and to the side across his back – an angle that an arm was never meant to bend at. _

_Pain tore through his upper body, small sparks shooting from within his shoulder socket and travelling along his shoulder blade, where it mixed with the pain caused by Aizen's boot on his back. Even as his body sent messages to his brain saying he was in pain Aizen was oblivious, continuing to pull gently, crossing his right arm to the left side of his body, trying to get the arm parallel with his shoulders – an impossible task._

_"Are you ready to answer my questions yet?" His mind was fogging over, clouding from the situation he found himself in; his right lung was no longer filling with air, which was putting an incredible strain on the left one, and his position on the ground wasn't helping in the slightest. And so, because of this, it took a few moments too long to realise what Aizen had asked._

_"Go... to... Hell you... bastard." The words were forced past his lips, mingling with the blood which was bubbling up from inside him, and Aizen only increased the pressure of his foot at the undesired words._

_"I see..." Aizen's grip on his wrist tightened, and the world burst into white dots of pain, before it filled and consumed his vision. Vaguely, he was aware of someone screaming out in pain, but he couldn't decipher who it was through the intense haze of agony which had settled on his mind. He struggled upwards, refusing to be under such a haze, but as he broke through he wished he had stayed where he was. _

_As the haze cleared he was able to tell that the screaming person was himself, and no matter how hard he tried he couldn't stop the noises coming from his throat, tearing past his lips as Aizen continued to press down on his mangled arm, touching the limb to his back. Blood flowed onto the ground from the broken skin as the bone of his snapped shoulder burst through the skin. _

_Even though the haze had cleared he knew he was in more agony than had it stayed, he was just more aware of the pain now, and a deep throb settled within his bones as the blood pumped out with every aching beat of his heart._

_Suddenly Aizen released him, his broken limb dropping to the ground like a dead weight, and he was finally able to stop his mouth from further noise. His breathing was heavy and laboured, and it almost killed him to give Aizen the satisfaction of knowing how much pain the smaller male was in, but it couldn't be helped._

_"Why do you look older Toushirou?" He couldn't muster up enough strength or breath in order to answer and Aizen took it as further defiance. Something small and wooden was placed against his neck, and his mind jumped with a start as he recognised the feel of it to be the end of a wand._

_"I know you must be wondering how I have such a weapon as this, but I feel as though I must remind you once more of where you are – this is my mind, and I can make whatever I want possible. Now, Hitsugaya-kun, the rest of my questions are insignificant compared to this one, and if you don't answer I'll make you feel incomprehensible pain; why do you look so much older?" The sound of blood pumping in his ears was so loud that Toushirou could only catch snatches of what Aizen was saying, including 'pain'. The seconds ticked by as Toushirou struggled to breath, but it was a wasted effort as Aizen sighed remorsefully._

_"It seems as though this entire thing was a waste of time, and I can feel the spell deteriorating – I won't be able to hold it for much longer. I guess I can leave you with a small parting gift, and I hope that we see each other again really soon Hitsugaya-kun." Bending down low, the wand sliding down to rest against his jugular, Aizen whispered into his ear, his breath tickling Toushirou's skin, one word which, for the split second before anything happened, made Toushirou's blood run cold in fear._

_"Crucio." Pain once more flooded his being, much stronger than it had previously, starting at his neck. As the spell sunk into the tender skin of his neck Toushirou felt his throat close, disallowing any air to come in and out of his body, making his mind start to panic at the lack of oxygen. His mouth opened in a silent scream as the fire of pain spread throughout his body, right down to the tips of his toes; it seemed to focus around his chest wound and his destroyed shoulder blade, increasing the feelings felt in those areas to an unbearable magnitude. _

_He didn't know how long his body twitched and spasmed, his back arching off the ground only to drop back down violently, slamming his chest into the cold marble of the floor, as he sought a reprieve from the feelings alight in his nerves. _

The world around him was slowly disappearing, Aizen's always coolly composed face smirking as he, too, disappeared from view, and soon the pain was ebbing away, like water through a cupped hand, leaving him panting on his bed in Grimmauld Place, the sheets twisted impossibly around his form. His skin was sweaty and clammy, his clothes sticking to his skin as a result, and his muscles still spasmed periodically from the ghostly pains of the torture that had never actually happened.

Toushirou felt a twinge in his shoulder, and he hesitated before looking at it, almost expecting to see a bloody, mangled mess, but thankfully all he saw was his shoulder, looking as it always did. The entire experience was extremely strange, and Toushirou didn't know what to make of it – he had a hard time believing that the real Aizen would do his own dirty work like that... No, he would have ordered a lackey to inflict the pain rather than do it himself, which meant that had actually been a dream. _What kind of messed up mind do I have to have dreamed something like that?_ However, even as his mind had made its decision on the matter he still didn't feel so sure – if only he hadn't seen that corridor again!

What did it mean? _Department of Mysteries, eh?_ It was something to think about at least. Too many questions were in his mind, yet he had the answer to none of them and time was slowly running out, ticking down until the end of the school year when everything would turn belly-side up; this Voldemort had promised a war at that time, and the books all said that was the time when General Potter would rise up from the ashes to help turn the tides of the war which the shinigami would be dragged into.

Slowly rolling onto his side, Toushirou pulled his blankets up, intending to return to the world of sleep; however, a thought struck him. _I'm tired of being so ignorant all the time!_ Ever since arriving in this time he was continually being surprised by the progression of events and how different things were to what he knew; not so different as to cause immediate alarm, but different enough to just throw off his senses. And if there was one thing he hated, it was appearing ignorant.

So, with the intention of setting the record straight, the small shinigami left the constricting confines of his blankets to find a pen and paper before settling down on the deep maroon rug on the floor. The only way to fix this problem of his was to start at the beginning – to start with the story which began it all; a story he knew completely off by heart, having read it so many times over the course of the past 25 years. The pen flew effortlessly across the off-white paper, as though the words were writing themselves, and a determined look had made itself home on Toushirou's features.

A few hours passed within the blink of an eye as the birds of early morning started to sing outside in the crisp, chilly air; the darkness, however, still lingered in the room, and Toushirou wouldn't put it any later than 3 in the morning. With a sigh he let the pen drop soundlessly onto the rug, wishing it had been his familiar brush – or even the slightly similar quills at school – and he couldn't help but marvel at how much his life had changed in such a relatively short amount of time.

He picked up the light paper which felt so heavy with words, and his eyes instantly started to absorb their contents, looking at it critically as though it was the first time he had heard of them.

'_Aizen, the traitor from the ranks of the shinigami; the name that is instantly recognisable; instantly feared by all. It is no secret that the shinigami have been at war with him for a while, having failed to win against him in the only battle in the shinigami's favour – the 'Winter War' as it has so been dubbed – and now, because of that failure, we suffer an eternal world of pain and suffering. How did it all go wrong, you may ask; weren't the captain's, at least, able to defeat that treacherous snake and his hybrid hollow minions? _

_Also, what about the special human Kurosaki Ichigo and his band of misfit ryoka? It all happened two years ago, right after the Winter War and the shinigami were forced to retreat back to Soul Society to regroup after their devastating loss at the hands of the espada, costing the lives Ukitake Joushirou and Kyouraku Shunsui at the hands of the number 1 espada, and Soifon, killed by the 2__nd__ espada. _

_Luckily enough, though it is still a mystery as to why, Aizen stopped with his attempts at creating a King's Key after the retreat, and instead focussed his sights on the complete annihilation of Seireitei and the shinigami; however, one good thing about the Winter War was that a lot of the espada were destroyed, leaving only the first and second espada to fight for Aizen – something he didn't change, for no more espada have showed themselves so far – meaning that he has been unsuccessful in even entering Soul Society, which has increased its security, and are in full war conditions._

_If things had stayed as they were, it would have been an eternal stalemate, with neither side giving up nor being defeated; however, that all changed six months after the Winter War – wizards were introduced. Wizards, an impossibility for people that had thought they knew everything about the living world; an arrogance which had thrown them under a blanket of ignorance. _

_Though, they did exist, and the two worlds collided explosively, with Aizen commandeering the evil wizards for his own, using their power and unpredictability against the shinigami, who knew nothing of their new foe. But every army must have a leader, and after some searching it was found that the leader of the evil wizards, before Aizen came onto the scene, was a boy by the name of 'Harry Potter', but he no longer went by that name – now he is known to all as 'General Potter', the faithful lackey at Aizen's side. _

_The boy could only have been 15 – 16 at the most – and so it was considered a joke that he would be any kind of threat, an insult to the already wounded ranks of a once extremely proud race of 'Gods'; this arrogance – which the shinigami were quickly becoming known for – cost many, many lives as the wizards successfully infiltrated the outskirts of Soul Society, with the aid of very complicated magic – a concept that is still not very well received; the only person in Seireitei who seems to have been able to accept the idea of magic is Hitsugaya Taicho, __but many believe that's because he's still young enough to believe in magic, regardless__. _

_After the deaths of many shinigami, Kurotshuchi Taicho conducted background checks into General Potter's life, before he became as he was, and we were all surprised to find out that he had been a normal teenage boy – or as normal as you can be being a wizard – but, extensive research into his mental state at the time showed that he had begun treading the path of evil – the path that would lead him straight to where Aizen wanted him to be; what would have happened had General Potter been a little happier in the year leading up to the start of a new era? _

_Would he be the same, or would he have been fighting on the side of justice and light? I guess it's impossible to know for certain._

_In an attempt to counterattack Aizen and his once more growing army, the shinigami desperately sought out any wizards who would take up arms to help fight the war which involved them – they were not disappointed with the results. The two armies...'_

The story trailed off, showing where Toushirou had stopped writing, and realised that this probably hadn't been the best version of events to copy – Kimidori Sora had never been a top writer, but she had been brave, a trait needed to publish a biography of the war. However, it served the purpose in showing that the shinigami had been blind and arrogant; he had been blind and arrogant. _A shinigami had written about Harry and the war – all the stories I read had been written by shinigami!_

Why had he not noticed that before? Because why would he question who wrote something? He had been a captain, so therefore he had been 'superior', and the shinigami had been 'superior' so why should he question something a shinigami wrote – was not everything they write correct? With a frustrated growl he jumped up and threw his piece of paper, full of ink, into the ever-present, crackling fire place, which instantly started to eat the paper until it was nothing but charcoal scraps.

Toushirou raked his hand through his unruly locks, the overwhelming urge to hit something welling up in his chest, but he was able to suppress it; now was not the time. _Baka!_ Of course shinigami would write stories from their point of view, and it didn't matter how many 'studies' were conducted, they would never know what was going through Harry's mind. _So everything I've ever read is just biased crap?_

Taking a deep breath, Toushirou sank back to the floor – getting frustrated now would not help anything; it had been a complete waste of time – hours of his life he would never get back – because he hadn't found out anything he hadn't already known, nor had it shed any light on the situation – his mind was still full with so many questions.

_What would be Harry's motive for joining Aizen? When did Aizen find out about the wizards – it would have had to be before the shinigami? Why are wizards already touching on the area of the shinigami when, according to the books, they knew nothing of the shinigami, nor did they have the mind capacity to think that far outside of the box? Why did Aizen stop trying to make the King's King? Why had he never heard of Voldemort? What part did Voldemort have to play in this mess? Why did Harry try to kill me – is he being controlled? What is the significance of that corridor – the Department of Mysteries? Where is it?_

The questions floated around endlessly, causing an encroaching headache to blossom, and to try and alleviate it, Toushirou pinched the bridge of his nose before allowing his body to go limp and fall flat on the ground, his eyes closing. He didn't want to sleep, but his mind was so active that he knew he needed to try and give it some rest, even if it was for only a little while.

* * *

Harry sat at the breakfast table, staring into his bowl of cereal as he absentmindedly played with the milk by loosely swirling around his spoon; but he wasn't concentrating on the bowl in front of him, his mind being miles away, inside a certain corridor from his dreams. He didn't understand why he continually dreamt about it, but he knew that there was a definite significance to it – it had helped him to save Mr Weasley. Which is why he felt so troubled at the moment.

He had dreamt of it once again during the night, but it had been different because, even if it was for only a split second, he could have sworn he had seen Toushirou at the end of the hallway, and he couldn't for the life of him figure out the reason for his presence; was something bad going to happen to his white haired 'friend'? The door flew open with a bang startling Harry, and everyone else in the room, out of their thoughts or conversations.

Looking at the door Harry saw as Hermione bustled inside, her cheeks slightly rosy from the cold outside air, though she was completely rugged up. She smiled around the room, and after a moment to process the shock appearance everyone was jumping up and welcoming her into the house. Harry walked over and gave her a friendly hug.

"Hey Hermione, how was Christmas with your parents?"

"Well, it wasn't the same as it would have been had we celebrated Christmas _on_ Christmas, but it was still great!" She smiled, her face radiating the joy she felt at having seen her parents after the long period of separation.

"I'm glad to hear that." The happy banter struck up immediately as she told the raven haired boy of everything she had been doing in the past few days, Harry doing likewise, and soon Ron dragged himself blearily into the kitchen, all traces of sleep gone when he noticed his friend had finally arrived at Grimmauld Place. The three talked and caught up, even though it hadn't even been a week since they last saw each other, but it had felt like forever and they had a lot to say to each other.

Suddenly the kitchen door opened again and in walked Toushirou, fresh after his sleep and fully dressed – ready to survive the day. Before he could even get two steps past the door he was attacked, knocking him off balance by the surprise alone, and had he been someone else he would probably have fallen over, but luckily he was able maintain his balance.

Looking down he saw a mop of brown hair as Hermione pulled away from the surprise hug, and he felt shock briefly register on his face because one, Hermione was here, and two, she had hugged him – something that didn't happen if he could help it.

"I see you're here," _obviously_. Walking away from her he nonchalantly sat down at the table and pulled a warm slice of toast towards him, a buttered knife all ready in his hand. However, the toast stopped its journey midway as a hand held the plate it was on firmly in place. Toushirou shot Hermione a frustrated and outraged look – she had only just arrived and already she was trying to prevent him from eating!

"Uh, uh," she said playfully as she pulled his food well out of reach; he sent an icy glare her way, but she wasn't deterred.

"You don't get to eat yet; not until you open this present I so kindly bought you." His eyes widened in shock as a small gift was thrust into his face – how did she know?

"Hermione, you've got the dates wrong – it's only the 20th, Christmas isn't for another 5 days," Ron said around the mouthful of food he had shovelled in before speaking.

"Please chew and swallow before speaking _Ronald_, and I'm perfectly aware of the dates; today is Toushirou's birthday." She smiled cheerfully as she turned back to Toushirou, but he swiftly stood up and left the room, leaving a wake of silence and confusion.

Back in his room Toushirou sat with his head cradled in his hands, trying desperately to not think of his last birthday – the last birthday he had celebrated.

_Everything was quiet and peaceful, as the occupants of Seireitei had yet to awaken and face the chilly, winter day. Taking this period of time before the city woke up Hitsugaya Toushirou – captain of the tenth division – was inside his office dutifully working away on the stack of papers which had come in during the night. _

_His goal was to finish up and leave his office before anybody could come visit him, namely his lieutenant Matsumoto Rangiku; the woman made it her job to come in around midday every day but Hitsugaya knew she would make an exception today. So, getting into a rhythm, he steadily worked through the white sheets, time just flying by as he concentrated. _

_Pick up a piece of paper, fill it out, move it aside. Pick up a piece of paper, fill it out, move it aside. Pick up a piece of paper, fill it out, move it aside. _

_As the pile got smaller and smaller the light outside got brighter and brighter as the sun rose higher in the sky, bringing with it a new day. He could already start to hear the noises of day-to-day activities outside the four walls he sat in and his speed increased. Matsumoto could arrive any minute now, and he did not want to be there when she did get there. _

_Finally he was done after only a scant few hours – it must have been some kind of record! However, he didn't have any time to stop and admire his great achievement because he was on a time limit. Standing up he walked as calmly as he could towards the door. Only a few more steps to go – he was going to make it! _

_Unfortunately he spoke too soon as the door flung wide open and a blur hurtled in and grabbed him into a big hug; all the air was squeezed out of him and he was suffocating as his lieutenant attempted to kill him while he could only flail about uselessly and try to push her away. Damn, she has motivation today so her hugging strength has increased! He heard a small laugh somewhere in the vicinity of the door, and he couldn't help but cry out 'hallelujah!' in his mind to that small voice which sounded like his saviour._

_"Matsumoto-san he can't breathe!" Suddenly Hitsugaya felt air rush into his lungs as he was released from Matsumoto's crushing hug._

_"Sorry Taicho! I just got so excited – it being your birthday and all!" Hitsugaya rolled his eyes. He hated his birthdays yet everybody always seemed intent on forcing him to celebrate them. Shinigami lived a very long time so what was the point in remembering every time he was one year older – wouldn't it make more sense to celebrate every ten years or something like that?_

_"Happy birthday Toushirou-kun." He sighed as the small shinigami came closer and gave him a much gentler hug which he grudgingly accepted. He figured that if he didn't it would only be worse for him in the long run. After Hinamori had moved away she reached down behind her and picked up a present that he hadn't even noticed was there. The present was wrapped in baby blue coloured wrapping paper with the words 'Birthday Boy' written all over it, and he felt his eyebrows skyrocket before plunging back down into his permanent frown. _

_He wasn't a child so why did they always insist on the childish wrapping papers? Both lieutenants looked at him expectantly and he sighed again before unwrapping whatever was inside. Inside was... watermelon? Did she run out of ideas or something?_

_"Isn't it a great present Hitsugaya-kun? I was thinking to myself what would shir- I mean Hitsugaya-kun want for his birthday and then I walked past a stall that was selling fresh watermelons and a light bulb went off! You don't get nearly enough of your favourite treat so why not buy some for you?" He saw that she looked extremely pleased with her purchase and so he forced a small smile that she accepted._

_"Hinamori, I don't know what to say; thank you... Oh, and it's Hitsugaya Taicho." Hinamori beamed brightly when she heard him thank her, while at the same time mentally patting herself on the back. After placing the watermelon safely on his desk Hitsugaya turned to his lieutenant to see what she got him. Knowing her the way he did it would be something so completely ridiculous that he would have to question whether she did in fact have any brains – something he found himself having to do regularly._

_"Taicho, I have a feeling that you're going to love this present!" Matsumoto tapped the side of her nose to indicate just how she knew that and Hitsugaya had to refrain from rolling his eyes while accepting her present wrapped in... pink wrapping paper? _

_Just from that he could tell he wouldn't like it. Reluctantly he opened it and immediately the vein in his forehead started to twitch as he closed his eyes in an attempt to calm himself. Matsumoto smiled sheepishly at him and Hinamori looked on with worried eyes, wondering just what it was the lieutenant had given her friend._

_"Well Taicho, me and Momo-chan need to get something to eat, so you can tell me about my great present later. Gotta go!" Practically dragging the smaller female along behind her, Matsumoto ran out of the office as her captain once more looked at the present. It was a stack of unfinished paperwork – her unfinished paperwork – with a small note on top that read 'It's just what you've always wanted, ne, Taicho?" Just rereading the note he knew he couldn't keep it in, no matter how much he tried._

_"MATSUMOTO!" If his division hadn't been awake before then they definitely were now._

~Break~

_The room was huge and Hitsugaya stood in front of Hinamori, trying in vain to protect her from the monster in front them. It was just the two of them, unarmed, against a roomful of Espada, Arrancar and Hollows, with Gin, Tousen and Aizen at the front of the room. _

_Aizen stood up and walked forward. Hitsugaya had a deep wound in his side and his vision kept blurring, but he had to protect Momo, even if it meant dying. He could hear her silent tears falling behind him as she tried to look away from the man she had admired most. As Aizen approached Toushirou snarled at him freely, warning him to stay away. This only amused the kindly-looking demon and he smiled._

"_Don't worry Hitsugaya-kun, I won't hurt you."_

"_Stay away from Hinamori you monster!"_

"_Your words hurt me, but it's her choice whether or not she comes with me." He turned to the trembling girl._

"_Momo-chan, don't worry. It turns out that it was all a trick and I was framed." The man started to form his words in order to weave his spell over Hinamori, who was slowly losing herself to him. She stepped out from behind Hitsugaya as her eyes filled with hope._

"_Aizen Taicho..." She walked forward and Hitsugaya lunged out to grab her, but he was dragged backwards by Ichimaru who had shunpo-ed down. Hinamori reached Aizen's side. Aizen looked up and locked eyes with the small Taicho._

"_Now Hitsugaya-kun, you need to be punished for being so disobedient." It was over before he could even blink. Aizen drew out his sword and rammed it through the vulnerable girl's body and then he pushed her away, like a piece of rubbish._

"_NOOO!" He struggled against Ichimaru's strong grip and Hinamori turned her head to look at him one last time, blood bubbling from her lips._

"_Gomen Shiro-chan. I... wasn't strong enough. Gomen..." It looked as though it pained her to speak, and the tears continued to make tracks along her face. Her eyes slowly slid shut._

~Break~

_Crash! "Aarrgghh!"_

_He was pulled out of his thoughts at the sound of a woman screaming. The voice was familiar, though it had been a long time since he had heard it. Before he realised what he was doing he was up and running, numb to the pain shooting along his spine and sending pins and needles to his legs and feet. He reached the edge of another battlefield within the larger battlefield. What he saw made his blood cold._

_On the ground against the wall a woman was slumped, semi-conscious with blood oozing from a large gash along her hairline. Her once beautiful and well kept blonde hair hung mattered and limp around her shoulders and face. She lifted her face slightly to lock eyes with him one last time. Her bright blue eyes were dulled by pain. Her colourless lips formed words that he couldn't quite make out before they closed again._

_He was rooted to the spot just staring at one of the only friends he had and time seemed to move slowly._

_A black haired head rose from the wreckage of a building, his eyes looking at the blonde on the ground, a sadistic smirk adorning his face. His right wrist was slightly extended in front of him holding casually an exquisite piece of wood before muttering two words. _

_"Avada Kedavra" _

_The area lit up in green light, illuminating the area in a sickly green light. The blonde dropped forward, unable to dodge, dead before she hit the ground._

_He couldn't believe it. He had killed her. The one single word, so familiar on his tongue, ripped past his parched throat, his anguished cry disturbing the night air._

_"MATSUMOTO!"_

The last birthday he had celebrated had been the last birthday with the two he had cared most about before their untimely demise at the hands' of monsters. A small, timid knock sounded at the door, and he knew who it would be.

"Yeah," he said unenthusiastically, prompting the door to be opened hesitantly to admit Hermione. She strode over and sat beside him, not looking directly at him as though she had done something wrong. The silence stretched on forever and, surprisingly, it was Toushirou who broke it first.

"I didn't know that you knew."

"I guess I knew because of those things I saw about your life... I'm sorry Toushirou; I didn't mean to hurt you – I was only trying to-"

"I know, and you shouldn't apologise because you have nothing to be sorry about. It's just that... This time of year holds a few bad memories for me, and I haven't celebrated my birthday since... For a long time, so it was a little emotionally overwhelming, but I appreciate the sentiment, I really do... Arigato, Hermione."

She smiled softly, though it was tinged with sadness about the fact that she would probably never be able to comprehend the amount of pain he would be in at the moment.

"Well, I got you a little something – it isn't much because I spent so much on Christmas gifts, but I thought you'd like it anyway." She slowly drew out the gift she had been trying to give to him before, and he accepted it, holding it in his hands for a moment as though to weigh it before slowly tearing away the wrapping.

Inside sat a small book, which didn't quite fit in the palm of his hand, and the cover was elaborately decorated with the picture of a magnificent blue dragon that appeared to be made of ice, and over the top of the picture, like a sort of watermark, was a faded imaged of a diamond with a cross inside – '10', the symbol on the back of his captain's haori. His fingers acted on their own as he flipped through, noting that all the pages were blank.

"I figured that it must be hard to keep all those memories inside your head, weighing you down, so I thought that it would be appropriate for you to write them down here, in your own personalised journal." Her eyes anxiously scanned his face, trying to see whether her gift was well received.

Toushirou kept his eyes fixed on the blank pages, his thoughts already trying to fill them with ink and only held back because of the lack of a pen; it was an amazing and thoughtful gift. For a brief moment, that Hermione would have missed had she not been staring so intensely, Toushirou smiled; not his usual smirk, but a real, genuine smile. It was small – minute – but it was still there, and then it was gone.

"Thank you Hermione, I don't know what to say."

"You don't need to say anything; I already have all the thanks I need." Standing up she smiled at him and then left the room, walking past Mrs Weasley on her way out.

Mrs Weasley, meanwhile, walked away from the wooden door, a concerned frown in place to hide the turmoil in her mind. She had gone to see if Toushirou was alright considering he had left so suddenly, and she couldn't help but over hear his entire conversation with Hermione.

_It's just that... This time of year holds a few bad memories for me, and I haven't celebrated my birthday since... For a long time, so it was a little emotionally overwhelming..._

That sentence had really struck at her heartstrings – what kind of house guest did they have staying with them? Most of the Order members were convinced that he was just some cold-hearted student, thanks to what Harry and Ron had to say about him, but Molly had seen a side that they hadn't, a more vulnerable side and her opinion now was that he only acted that way to protect his own fragile heart and mind. _I am going to cook him an amazing birthday dinner!_ With that in mind she bustled away, thinking of what would be a good recipe to attempt.

* * *

Toushirou looked up as another knock sounded at his door. _Did she forget something?_

"Come in." The door opened soundlessly and in came, not Hermione, but Tonks who walked in as though she owned the place, as though she had every right to be there.

"Hey kiddo, what'cha doing?" His eyebrow twitched slightly at the term 'kiddo', but he didn't comment.

"Can I help you?" His tone was cool, trying to express his lack of desire to have a conversation with her, but she didn't take the hint and instead plopped onto the ground and leant against the side of the bed beside him.

"Yeah, I was just coming to see if you were alright – you didn't eat your toast which you looked like you really wanted." He felt a little touched that she would go out of his way to see if he was ok, but he still didn't want to talk with her, not at the moment at least.

"I'm fine," he said through gritted teeth.

"Yeah, I figured you'd say that; I brought you your toast – it's still warm. I didn't know what you want on it so I only buttered it." She raised her hand, a paper towel with a few slices of toast sitting on it as she said.

"Thank you..." He picked them up and her hand dropped down; he looked at them for a moment before taking a bite.

"You're welcome."

"Why did you bring me this food?" He didn't understand why she was being so nice to him – all the other Order members had seemed kind of distant and... cold towards him, except for Sirius. Tonks stood up abruptly and turned to face him; with a smile she lightly punched him the arm.

"Because you haven't had breakfast yet, and one of those other little vultures would eat everything, leaving you with nothing if I didn't; I like you Toushirou." The last part seemed as though she had tacked it on at the last minute after deciding whether she wanted to or not.

"How can you make that decision – you don't know me."

"I'm usually pretty good at judging other people's characters', and what I've seen of you so far is... different, and I like that." She smiled widely, her face humorously changing its shape.

"If you ever need someone to talk to about anything, feel free to talk to me, ok?" Without waiting for an answer she bounded out of the room, her amount of energy astounding him, and leaving him speechless.

* * *

Molly proudly set the last steaming dish on the table, a day's hard work about to be shown, and she couldn't wait to see the fruits of her labour be accepted by everyone – she had worked damned hard for this moment! After several hours of searching through the impromptu library on the second floor, Molly had finally found a nice, easy Japanese recipe that wouldn't take too long to prepare – Ramen; hopefully Toushirou would appreciate it.

Everybody sat down at the table as Mrs Weasley finished serving up all the bowls, but she wasn't as well received by her children as she had hoped.

"Mum, what is this?" Ron wrinkled his nose as he looked down, trying to figure out what the strange concoction of ingredients was.

"It's called Ramen, dear; I thought it would be a nice change of events to cook something a little different." Tonks smiled at Molly.

"Well, I for one can't wait to try it – it smells great!" Mrs Weasley sat down in her chair, swelling at the compliment.

"Thank you, dear; where's Toushirou?"

"I'm right here," he said as he walked in, taking his place at the table as he did so. Looking down he was surprised to see the contents of his bowl, and his small, signature smirk crept onto his face for a moment, but he didn't comment, and instead started to eat dinner.

After seeing Toushirou's lack of hesitation, a few of the other people seated around the table hesitantly started to eat, with unanticipated results – it didn't taste nearly as bad as it looked; in fact it tasted quite nice, which most found surprising. An easy banter picked up around the table, making the room feel warm and lively.

Toushirou stared into his food, separate from the conversations around him, feeling like an outsider; an intruder.

"Hey, Toushirou, do you like Quidditch?" His head snapped around to look at Tonks, and he half-shrugged, though there wasn't any real commitment behind it; however, she took that as he queue to drag him into a huge discussion on Quidditch; a discussion which soon had the twins participating in – oh, how he hated those annoying twins!

Before he knew it the night had passed and he was once more in his room, though this time he felt lighter; happier than he had felt in a long time. It had been a good night, and he had been able to forget all his worries and troubles for a few hours and be on the inside for once, rather than looking in from the outside; it had been a good birthday.

His door was pushed open and Mrs Weasley poked her head in.

"Oh good, you're still awake." She bustled over to him.

"Happy birthday, dear; I hope you had a wonderful day," she said, smiling kindly, like the motherly figure she was. A small, blue-iced cupcake was held forward towards him, and he accepted it with a softening of his face. Suddenly he was pulled into a warm embrace, and he instantly tried to resist, but she wasn't going to let go, and so he stopped struggling and shyly returned her hug; it was just this once that he would allow himself to indulge in such a frivolous emotion desire.

He missed his Granny so much, and this woman, this dangerous woman, reminded him so much of her – so much it almost hurt. And now, standing on his birthday hugging her he could almost imagine it was the old woman who had brought him up who he was hugging, and felt one single, small tear escape from his eye.

* * *

Author's note

What, an author's note at the end! I know, strange XD Anyway, I think I was in a very strange mood when I wrote this chapter, so it seems a little... different - I think anyway. I'm not sure if not writing for so long affected my skills or not, or the flow of the story, or what... Anyway, tell me what you all think, because I would love to hear any and all feedback XD

* * *

Response to Reviews

TaintedxShadows: Thank you, it was so nice to read your review - I sometimes get a little iffy about my writing style, so it makes my day to read nice comments like yours XD

xXSweetestXAngelXNightmareXx: :) He better watch out XD Thanks for the review

NimayTheAirbender: I will definitely consider your idea - I love hearing ideas from people who read this story, because I'm essentially writing it for you guys, so I gotta know what you want XD And call me a sadist, or whatever, but I don't at all mind that whole torture stuff - it's interesting to write XD

DXmaryoOD: I'm so glad I could brighten your day XD Did you end up doing good in your tests?

Lady Queria: lol, like glass? Thanks for the review XD

Azelf1717: Yeah, Harry is pretty gulliable in this story... :S I guess at this stage in the books I kind of see him as being kinda gulliable, so that's probably why he's like that XD I think Dumbledore's just really smart XD And perceptive as well

ZoeyExtreme: Thank you so much - I could feel your excitement for my story in your review, and it made me sooooo happy XD (It might have have something to do with the whole 'OMG OMG OMG' at the start of it XD)

.roar: Thanks for your review - I liked your feedback on Hitsugaya's character XD I'm not sure how I'd go about changing anything, or even if I would, but it's nice to know for future chapters XD I know ay, it just seems so much more natural to write Hitsugaya rather than Toushirou - which to me sounds a little awkward - I don't know why, but it does XD

DishyFishy-SnakeandCrane: I don't deserve your beautifully decorated cake because I took so long to update, but I shall accept it anyway - why let it go to waste XD Because I haven't had my computer, and thus my internet I haven't been able to read your story, but I will definitely do that soon now that I have my precious computer back XD Can't wait

FullmetalKeyblade-13: Wow, that's all I have to say - your review was a story in itself XD I'm not sure if it will be more sad - I seem to be insensitive to the amount of sadness; nothing ever seems quite right whenever I write sad scenes, so I rewrite them, and sometimes they turn out sadder, and sometimes they don't - I guess it's the luck of the draw XD lol, that image of Harry was so funny that I just cracked up laughing XD I could totally imagine it - which I think is a little scary :S Guess what - I've already written the scene where Hitsugaya meets Toushirou XD How exciting! Thank you, I wanted to make the two messages sound as similar as possible, and I think that if the creativity is flowing than good things just write themselves XD Also, yes, I am a girl XD lol, Toshi would be a terrible nickname :D Was Berlin fun? When I read that you were going I was just jealous XD Germany would be a pretty nice place to go to I think; also, luckily your super long rambling review won't be delayed because I took so long to update XD Unless you're still in Berlin, in which case, I hope you're having fun XD

Furionknight, HoTaRu, Light Lamperouge, Bokmal14, Ziya Hitsugaya, xTKx and animeloveramy: thank you to all of you for reviewing my story - I live for your reviews XD


	20. Chapter 18

Well, first I must apologise profusely for my very, very, very late update - if I am not much mistaken it has been 6 months, 24 days and approximately 16 hours (give or take a little) - again, I'm extremely sorry :'( Things have just not been very good for me lately, just going from bad to worse, though thankfully everything has just finally started to turn around and I could find some time to write this XD Thanks to all those lovely people who reviewed, and hopefully you enjoy this next chapter, and the next chapter will be out a lot quicker than this one - definitely not half a year, hopefully just two or three weeks :)

* * *

Chapter 18

_And now, standing on his birthday hugging her he could almost imagine it was the old woman who had brought him up who he was hugging, and felt one single, small tear escape from his eye._

_The darkness was all encompassing, enveloping him lightly rather than oppressively as it had a tendency to do. The cool and gentle feel was refreshing and tinged slightly with familiarity, though at the same time, being completely foreign. Trying, and failing, to pry open heavy eyelids, he was content to just remain in his state of oblivion; in this world of limbo that his own subconscious had created, for the anomalous feeling of calm and serenity pervading his muscles and body was just so nice, so comforting and peaceful that he felt as though he could stay there forever, shut off from the rest of the world. _

_A bubble. That would be nice; to exist in a bubble, filled with this same darkness that created the illusion of ignorance, something that everyone wanted to achieve when faced with the realities of the world. It would seem that the old saying held some merit after all: _ignorance is bliss.

_However, as he lay – though he could have been standing and he would not have been able to tell the difference – a small thought niggled at his mind, boring deeper until it could no longer be ignored. _Wake up, now_. He didn't understand why his own mind was so against him resting; it was almost as though he was an enemy of himself as he tried to sabotage this place of serene calmness that just seemed to wash over the senses, creating a feeling of timelessness. Unfortunately, the more he fought against himself, the more aware the rest of his senses became, until, eventually, he felt his eyelids crack open slowly, the outside world coming into focus._

Toushirou pushed himself up from the confines of his warm sheets, taking in his dull and hardly lit surroundings – it was still dark out and it would be a fair assumption that everybody would still be asleep. He felt his eyebrows draw down slightly into a small frown as his eyes squinted slightly from the grogginess he felt from having only just woken up.

Unable to detect the need for his consciousness, Toushirou allowed his body to sink back into the bed, his eyes already sliding closed again. However, he knew that it would be a miracle to achieve that same state of serenity and calm.

_Unconsciousness came quickly, which was a miracle in itself, however, it was already different from before as the darkness filled his lungs suffocatingly, and he had the sensation of falling yet remaining unmoving. Sharp intakes of breath could be heard as the only sound in the still atmosphere, and he found himself wondering vaguely who it could be – they sounded pretty far away. A cold sweat had started to form, coating his skin with a thin layer, though when he moved a hand to feel his arm it was bone dry to the touch. _

_However, moving was a strange sensation in itself because, while it felt like he was moving – that he was touching his arm – his muscles remained stiff and uncooperative, leading him to believe that any movements he made was just an illusion born from his own need to be free, to not feel trapped by the darkness that surrounded him. Suddenly, Toushirou felt himself tip forward, and a small pinprick of light appeared in his vision. Said light rushed forward, much too quickly, and panic started to develop in his chest; irrational panic of this strange light that he appeared to be falling into. _

_A deafening silence settled over his ears as he fell, roaring loudly, and the sounds of nothing soon morphed into discernable shouts and yells. As soon as his body touched the light, white spread across his vision in an explosion, and a groan escaped from his lips due to the pain on his retinas. His hands flew up to his face in order to try and shield his now tightly shut eyes, and it was then that he realised that his feet were on solid ground, as opposed to the weightlessness of the endless darkness he had been in. Slowly opening his eyes, Toushirou was forced to blink away the temporary blindness before he could make out his blurry surroundings. _

_As his vision returned he was able to make out the feudalistic Japanese-styled buildings around him, and the people hurrying about garbed in black attire that was so familiar to him._

_"Seireitei?" The one word was whispered in confusion as he struggled to think, to remember why his presence in Seireitei was so wrong, when it felt so incredibly right. The feeling of tension and unease hung heavily in the air, so thick that it could have been cut with a knife as the Shinigami around him ran here and there, performing their duties quickly and efficiently with little communication between themselves, providing a contrast to the amount of noise he had heard when first reaching the white light. _

_Suddenly one man, who appeared to be only new, collided with another, sending papers flying as the two men found themselves on the ground. It was as though a switch had been flicked, and almost instantly the second man was on his feet, his face contorted in anger and... fear? Toushirou wasn't sure if he was reading the emotions correctly because he saw no need for there to be fear present._

_"Watch where you're going you clumsy oaf!" The words were hissed quietly, though they sounded so much louder in the soundless area._

_"I-I'm so s-sorry sir," the younger man stammered, his eyes darting around as though looking for someone not present. Suddenly he was hoisted into the air by the front of his robes, bringing him eyelevel with the other man._

_"Do you realise how important those reports were? Now they're scattered everywhere, some too dirty to be legible. Tell me, how am I meant to hand them in if they can't be read?"_

_"I-I don't know-"_

_"I can't! How did an idiot like you ever pass through the academy? I have a right mind to-" As the threat continued Hitsugaya lurched forward, a hand outstretched as his annoyance rose for the second man. He planned to stop whatever petty fight might break out, but a new voice was heard, cutting off all conversations._

_"What is the meaning of this? Tamaru let him go, now!" The small figure glided gracefully onto the scene, a white, sleeveless coat fluttering out behind him as an air of importance and authority filled the courtyard. Aqua eyes snapped with a cold fury born from annoyance and impatience, however, the remainder of the pale face remained in stoic mask; the only thing hinting at his anger being the slight pulling of his eyebrows into a small frown. The man – Tamaru – released his hold on the front of the other man's clothing, causing him to stumble backwards, and he would have fallen over had not a small, yet powerful, arm shot out to rebalance him._

_"Taicho, I'm sorry about this disturbance-"_

_"Do you have the Sixth Division's casualty reports that I asked for?" The young captain's voice smoothly cut into whatever excuse would be thought up, and at his question Tamaru glanced slightly at the papers now littering the ground._

_"Yes, I... did, but don't worry Taicho, you'll have them on your desk within the hour!" Standing up straight – a full head taller than his diminutive superior – the ashen faced man looked straight ahead, hoping that his tardiness would not be punished. Stress levels were running high due to the war, and the tenth division Taicho – already well-known for his slightly shorter-than-most-temper – was capable of blowing up at even the smallest of things, such as late paperwork. After a calculating glance, Hitsugaya replied._

_"See that you do, but do not start any fights or it will be the last thing you do." And with that the young captain turned on his heel and started to stride out of the courtyard and towards his office. An almost audible sigh of relief could be heard from Tamaru as soon as his captain was out of earshot and, with a quick dirty look thrown towards the younger shinigami who had started this, started to collect the little pieces of white that were fluttering around the ground in the slight breeze._

_"Poor Taicho, he's been so stressed lately-"_

_"What do you expect when the number of captains capable of performing their duties are at an all time low?"_

_"I heard the reason why we keep receiving the reports from the sixth division is because Kuchiki Taicho is-"_

_"Stop it! If Hitsugaya was to hear you-"_

_"Is it true that the sixth division Taicho is dead? I just can't believe it-"_

_"I heard in a bar the other night that Shuhei Taicho is struggling with his new duties-"_

_"Being a captain would be hard at the best of times, but to be a new captain at the moment..."_

_"I hope Hitsugaya Taicho looks after his own health, we need him and his strength-"_

_"I don't think he's looking after himself at all; it can't be healthy to work all day and well into the night, sitting in that office all the time. I don't think he's getting nearly enough sleep; if Unohana Taicho weren't so overwhelmed with patients then I might have gone to see her about Taicho already-"_

_"Poor Unohana Taicho! It must be so hard to manage the division without her lieutenant with her-"_

_"My sister in the fifth division said that her lieutenant is missing and there's the possibility that she's defected to the other side!"_

_Toushirou heard the snippets of multiple conversations whispered covertly to one another as the people worked, and he could hardly believe what he was hearing. The entire place was just chaos brewing under the surface and waiting to present itself, as rumours flew from one ear to the next. _For a dream, this place is very real_, he thought to himself. _Wait... What if this isn't just a dream..._ He looked around himself again, taking in all the surroundings, from the pristine courtyard to the suspicious, tense and anxious shinigami. Suddenly he knew what this was – it was a memory! _

_However, it was impossible for it to be completely a memory as he, himself, would have no knowledge of the conversations that had taken place when he had left the scene and before he had arrived._ I was trying to get the sixth division's casualty reports? Then this must be taking place right after the raid where Kuchiki Taicho..._ Hesitantly, he walked forward, wondering how he could leave this nightmarish place and return to another nightmarish place, but one decidedly more real. However, try as he might, Toushirou was unable to will himself awake; though, he hadn't thought it would work anyway. _

_Walking amongst the shinigami was a strange experience and, even though he knew that he couldn't touch them, he still avoided any contact, walking as one normally would walk through a crowd of people. Unsure of what to do or where to go, Toushirou just started to walk with no clear destination in mind, lost in his thoughts as he remembered times long past. _

_Due to his lack of concentration he was unaware of the small square of light that was resting casually on the ground, and so was completely unprepared for when his foot stood on it, sinking lower and lower. It was almost like falling off an exceptionally tall building as he continued to fall, the white light surrounding him completely. However, unlike the darkness, the light was full of noise, screaming, explosions, laughter, war. _

_He wasn't sure which one he preferred. Every now and again he would see a break in the wall of white, and see beyond into the memories of his mind. Suddenly he was no longer falling through white light, but instead falling through red, heat licking his skin and alighting his senses. A silent scream tore through his throat as his eyes watered from the fire that consumed him, right down to the core; the pain was unbearable, but not unfamiliar. Clamping his jaw shut Toushirou closed his eyes tightly. _This is just a dream, this pain is not real; it's just a memory of pain. This is just a dream, this pain is not real; it's just a memory of pain. This is just a dream, this pain is not real; it's just a memory of pain. This is just a dream, this pain is not real; it's just a memory of pain...

_T__he mantra ran endlessly through his mind and the pain started to fade into the background, fading into nothingness. Slowly Toushirou opened his eyes again to find himself still surrounded by red, yet it no longer affected him. Almost immediately after his eyes were revealed did he tip forward, being sent into a spiralling round-a-bout as he spun around, his head beginning to feel dizzy. A white square was rapidly closing the distance between it and him, and he just knew he would be thrust into another memory – hopefully it would be as short as the last one. Just as he hit the white, he turned his head a fraction of a degree and saw, rather than blinding white light that he had grown accustomed to, but instead a dimly lit corridor extending on forever. _

_He could only see it for a split second before the view was wrenched away from him, but he knew that he had seen that place before, on more than one occasion._ The Hallway to the Department of Mysteries_. The corridor itself was a mystery – there was no need for him to see an entire department._

_Suddenly Toushirou felt his feet touch solid ground again, minus the explosion that had happened previously. Looking around himself briefly he took stock of where he was and was surprised to see a landscape made purely of ice and snow. _

_A cold, biting wind blew around him but it didn't affect as it would another person, though walking forward was a struggle as he had to combat against the high gale-force winds blowing viciously. It had been awhile since he had been to this place – too long if he was completely honest with himself – but it held a timeless beauty to it that he would always be able to recognise in a heartbeat._

_"Master, why are you choosing to do this? Have I not always been completely loyal to you?" Toushirou turned, coming face to face with the most impressive creature in all of creation – the magnificent ice dragon Hyourinmaru. The power radiating from the frozen scales was intoxicating and it almost made Toushirou want to reach out and just try and grab some of that illusive power. However, the words spoken confused him to no end, but though his mind was confused, his mouth knew what to say._

"_This isn't about loyalty; you know that I could never ask for a more perfect being to fight alongside me, but not this time." The words flowed without prompting, though they created a small niggling at the back of his mind as he listened to the words, echoes of a conversation long over._

"_Why risk everything? I will not allow you to go without me."_

"_You have no way of stopping me! I will leave, and I'm sorry, but it would be impractical to take you with me!" The dragon reared up, towering over Toushirou, leaving him to feel insignificant and small._

"_How dare you child! Do not forget who I am; I am part of your soul, and that is not something you can so easily discard-"_

"_No, you have the wrong idea!" The frustration shone through his voice, and suddenly Toushirou remembered this conversation extremely well; one of the worst moments of his life and he was being to relive it for a second time._

"_I'm not discarding you – I _need_ you; we're a fighting pair, a partnership. But this mission... I need to hide my identity and blend in, even when I'm fighting, and unfortunately I can't do that when swinging a sword around." The conviction was clear; he really thought that his decision was the perfect solution to his problem. Inside his own mind Toushirou was yelling, trying to stop himself, his own foolish self from fighting against the much wiser dragon._

"_Listen to me little one, you're correct that we are a partnership, a symbiotic relationship created through harmony, and it is this fact that causes me to reject your idea. We need each other – what you're proposing is to fight alone; to fight with only part of your soul."_ Listen to him Toushirou!_ No matter how much he yelled it was useless; the decision had already been made, and it had been made years ago._

"_Toushirou," said boy looked up with a mixture of surprise and overwhelming sadness – Hyourinmaru practically never addressed him by his given name, and so the seriousness of the situation was obvious._

"_I will not allow you to die, and I cannot allow myself to entrust your safety to a little wooden stick. Do you promise to come back safely?" A minute passed as Toushirou looked the dragon dead in the eye aqua looked with red as he mulled over the question. Determination, confidence and the weight of his decision shone clearly in his eyes as he inclined his head slightly._

"_Yes, I promise."_

"_Then there is nothing more I can say. I do not agree with this decision, nor do I condone your actions, but they are exactly that – your actions. You must choose your own path on the way to destiny, and this is put a paving stone in your path. I have your promise, and you had better be safe when you return, both physically and mentally..." The image of the ice plain started to fade and Toushirou was suddenly struck with the inexplicable need to change his mind – to tell Hyourinmaru that he would take him instead of his wand. _

_However, he had only taken one step before the image was gone and he was once more immersed in his dark world. Hyourinmaru was a dragon of honour, loyalty and pride and Toushirou had betrayed his trust by leaving him behind on such an important mission. _I broke my promise to him... How can I ever face him again? He was right and I was wrong...

_His stay in darkness lasted barely a minute before Toushirou found himself in yet another scene, one that was much more foreboding._ I suppose the memories are acting in a linear fashion now._ The grand hall that he found himself standing in was large – easily capable of fitting his office in the tenth division several times. Walking forward his feet made soft noises on the marble floor and his eyes were constantly alert. Looking around he saw a large group of shinigami present, though they were all dressed in an earthly fashion, rather in their shinigami clothes; had he not already known that they were shinigami he would never have guessed it._

"_Ah, it appears that the shinigami delegate have already arrived before us." Toushirou slowly and calmly turned around to face the newcomer's voice, and his eyes landed briefly on the Minister of Magic before taking in the pose of wizards following closely behind him. None of them appeared unique or individual in anyway, except for one man who seemed to just stand out from the rest. _

_He stood slightly to the left of the group as though not being associated with it though still just being there, and his piercing blue eyes twinkled merrily behind half-moon spectacles as he returned the young captain's stare. It was unnerving for Toushirou to experience this memory as a sort of spectator in his own body, having no control over the body's motor functions in any way._

"_I believe that I have already met with a few other shinigami, and I must say that I am a little surprised that Captain Kuchiki was not sent for this follow up meeting."_

"_He's dead." The short, two-worded sentence caused the jovial and welcoming smile off the man's face, and he looked as though he was struggling to find something to say, though, after a declaration such as that what was there to say? To be honest, Hitsugaya had lied a little with his words – Kuchiki was merely missing in action at the moment, and, unbeknownst to his former self, Kuchiki would indeed be found and he would continue to live for another few months. That is, he would live until the mission where he, Lieutenant Abarai and a squad of shinigami would perform a raid on a dark wizarding stronghold; a mission where none would ever return._

"_Oh, well, I'm terribly sorry for your loss... These are dark times indeed..." The Minister's words trailed off under the hard stare he was receiving from the captain. Clearing his throat he attempted, once more, to broach a new topic of conversation._

"_Uh, welcome to the Ministry of Magic. I am Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic, and this here," he indicated to the left of him. "Is Albus Dumbledore, former headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." _

"_Former headmaster?"_

"_Yes, we could hardly run a school during a war, now can we? No parent in their right mind would send their child off to learn magic when the school could easily be penetrated." At Fudge's words Toushirou saw Dumbledore's mouth tense slightly at the corners – something that he had not picked up on before. Apparently, he disagreed strongly with Fudge. As it turned out, Toushirou had also disagreed._

"_How will you maintain the numbers necessary to fight a war if magic is not being taught to the new generations of witches and wizards?"_

"_I can assure you Mr..." Fudge looked at him quizzically, suddenly realising that he had been the only one to have introduced himself._

"_Captain Hitsugaya Toushirou of the Tenth Division." The weight of the title was impressive, but Toushirou saw a few sceptical looks in the wizards, as well as on Fudge's face; they didn't believe that a 'boy' as 'young' as he was would be cable of wielding the power and authority his role brought with it._

"_Anyway, I can assure you, Captain Hitsugaya, that Aizen will be experiencing the same problems that we are in regards to the dwindling numbers."_

"_I highly doubt that; I know Aizen better than you do, and I know that kidnapping and brainwashing those who display magical qualities is not beneath him. Also, he is capable of manufacturing his own soldiers, while we are not."_

"_Manufacturing his own soldiers? Are you insane, boy? You can't just make a person."_ Yes, you can_, he thought grimly to himself. At this point in time the wizards only knew what the shinigami were by name; they did not know of their role within society, or the fact that they were already dead. To the wizards, the shinigami was just another wizarding community from a foreign country. _If only we had told them the truth from the very beginning. Why did we feel it necessary to conceal as many truths as we could when we were fighting on the same side? Was it due to our foolishly misplaced pride? _Outwardly, Toushirou's eyebrows drew down sharply as he frowned deeply from being called a 'boy'._

"_I believe, Minister, that you need to be a little more open-minded to the endless possibilities in this situation. It would be wise-" Hitsugaya's words were cut off abruptly as an explosion rocked the foundations of the building. Debris scattered across the marble floor, which no longer held its pristine cleanliness, and suddenly the area was filled with wizards fighting each other. Fudge was no longer standing in front of him, but was instead across the room fighting back the intruders, and his own shinigami, handpicked for their ability to use a wand, were also engaged in combat. As soon as his body realised that it needed to be in the scene displayed his wand raised and spells started to shoot out the end. _That was strange, I just skipped a few hours' worth of memory, though I suppose I should have expected as much from a dream.

_Red light streaked past his face, barely missing him, and he instantly spun on his heel to face his attacker. Said attacker was hardly prepared for the powerful spell directed his way, blasting him off his feet and into a tall pearly-white column that cracked under the impact. _

_The attack continued for ages, but Toushirou only felt himself becoming more and more immersed in the battle as his adrenaline run high. Fighting wizards with their own weapon of choice was easier than he thought it would be, and he could see that they were clearly winning against the intruders, pushing them backwards out of the building and back through the hole they came through._

"_Hado #33: Sokatsui!" The powerful blue energy pulsed through the overly large room, shattering the floor and desks, though luckily the wizards were able to block the kido. A few murmurs were heard from the wizards as they wondered what type of spell that was, but Toushirou could only think of one thing: _this is when it starts to go downhill._ As the dust settled one lone figure could be seen walking towards them, their footsteps echoing loudly on the ruined ground. _

_All Toushirou wanted to do was attack: attack and kill without any mercy. However, he was restricted in his movements, and no matter how hard he tried he was unable to get his body to move. A few gasps were heard as the stranger's face came into view. Cold, merciless emerald eyes shone brightly with suppressed glee as he surveyed the area, his spotless white uniform swishing soundlessly around his legs as he moved gracefully across the rubble._

"_Quite the mess I would say." A twisted grimace formed, and it could almost pass for a smile, though one filled with sadist thoughts and ideas. Toushirou couldn't help but examine the young man closely, having lived with his younger self for so long now. The dark, messy hair brushed against a slightly pale forehead, barely obscuring the emerald green eyes that was said to have been gained from his mother. _

_However, Toushirou noted with curiosity that he wasn't wearing any glasses, though he wasn't sure what that meant. The clothes he wore stated his allegiance all too plainly, as he wore the pure-white uniform of Las Noches. This man was one of Aizen's top espada, and Toushirou wasn't entirely certain if he was alive or dead: he didn't have a hole to mark him as a hollow, but how else could he even be called an espada? It was another mystery that Toushirou had never bothered to look too closely at._

"_Harry Potter..." The words were whispered in awe and confusion, as though the speaker could not understand what the boy was doing here of all places, especially dressed as he was._

"_It's been a long time, Dumbledore, keeping well I hope?" All other people in the room were forgotten as he walked closer to the older man with the piercing eyes. Toushirou felt his muscles tense even tighter – if that were possible – as he prepared to spring into action should he need to._

"_It's good to see you again Harry, though I would have preferred it under slightly better circumstances." The tension in the air was thick and heavy as the two men looked at each other, not appearing at all like two people who were meeting after a prolonged period of time – there were no smiles or good humour, just a very slight frown on Dumbledore's face, and hardened and cold mask of indifference on Harry's. _

_However, despite the rather obvious hostility in the air, no one was treating the boy as a threat yet, as though they were unwilling to believe that he would fight against them. The cold, green eyes swept once more across the ruined room, looking for the dark wizards that had fallen, their bodies mostly covered by pieces of marble._

"_Looks as though they got caught in my blast, doesn't it?"_

"_Yes, yes, my good boy, you did marvellously! Though I must ask, what was that spell that you cast?" Harry turned his eyes to the Minister, as though only just seeing him for the first time, and a small smile curled the corners of his lips._

"_Hmmm... I can show it to you again if you like," was the only reply as his grin became more pronounced and decidedly more feral. There was no warmth beneath his smile, only a cold and cruel want for pain and destruction. Fearing no danger Fudge smiled brightly._

"_Yes, I believe that would be a nice idea; go ahead then, my boy." Harry lifted his right hand, pointing it towards Fudge, and Toushirou felt as though he was watching the scene in slow motion. Blue power started to collect within the palm, and Toushirou was suddenly in motion, his wand swishing in a violent downwards arc directed at Harry._

"_Hado #33: Sokatsui!" As the blue fire left his palm, a blazing streak of purple rushed forward, blasting him off his feet and causing him to crash into the ground. However, the damage was already done as the wizards crowded around the Minister, trying to no avail to heal the large gashes littering his skin and leaking his life force across the tiles. A cold laugh reverberated around them, and Harry gingerly picked himself up, wiping away a bit of blood that was oozing from a cut above his eye._

"_That was pretty powerful, I must admit, but can you handle this?" A cry sounded in the distance a few seconds before the room was full of hollows of all shapes, sizes and power levels. The following period of time was insane; filled with Toushirou concentrating only on his own wellbeing in order to not be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of enemies that were upon him. However, due to his superior power level he knew that he would be faring better than most around him, and so with a large effort he attempted to fight his way towards his allies. _

_Spells rocketed around the room, mostly bouncing off the incredibly tough skin of the hollows, but occasionally sinking below the surface, resulting in an inhuman shriek of pain that could set your teeth on edge._ Magic hardly affects hollows, but a hollow's power can greatly affect a wizard._ This battle was the way that Toushirou had found out this bit of information; before now the shinigami had been under the assumption that kido and magic was the same, which it was to a degree. However, they had never taken into account the __hierro ability._

_With only a small stick for protection, Toushirou had to be more aware of himself than he would have had to previously, because he would not be able to block an attack that was an inch from his back like he would with Hyourinmaru._ If I had chosen to bring him I would have defeated these small fry in no time, and nobody would have ever gotten hurt._ Suddenly the scene changed again, and Toushirou saw that all the hollow were gone, leaving only devastation and destruction in their wake. His body felt absolutely exhausted and defeated as he walked slowly and wearily towards the clump of people, the majority of which were on the ground. _

_There was blood everywhere, staining the once clean area, and the colour seemed to etch itself on the back of his retina, an image that would haunt him for a long time. There was no beating around the bush, no denying anything as he looked at the three shinigami and two wizard survivors: he had failed, and he had failed miserably. Due to his own decisions and choices a lot of good people had died just now, including the leader of the wizard army, a person needed to maintain good morale and motivation. Toushirou was extremely thankful for the darkness that suddenly pulled him from the scene, making it so that he would not have to relive even a second more of that day. _

_However, luck was not on his side at all as he was thrown back onto the icy landscape of his inner world. He knew, without anything happening, that this would be the memory from a few days after the incident in the Ministry of Magic._

_"So you have returned." The disapproval was still evident in Hyourinmaru's tone as he faced the boy opposite him. Toushirou was unable to lift his eyes to meet the weight of that red stare, and so trained them on the ice at his feet. He remembered all too clearly the guilt and defeat he had felt; he had failed himself, and had abandoned his closest friend. _

_He could say whatever he liked before the incident, but they both knew deep down that it was abandonment, and for that, Toushirou had been dishonourable and reckless when the mighty dragon deserved so much more._ He deserves much better than me_._

_"At least you came back alive," he rumbled deep in his throat, but it did nothing to alleviate Toushirou's gnawing guilt; he had come back alive when so many didn't. He had led them to that death trap, he had told his group to leave their swords behind lest they attract too much attention – it had been his decision to cast away his soul, yet he had forced that decision on others as well. _

_He was not worthy of being a captain, and he was definitely not worthy of wielding this powerful and honest being. The storm raged overhead as Toushirou's thoughts turned dark. Even though this was just a memory he could not stop himself from thinking the exact same things he had thought long ago._

_"I see that you are physically fine, but I detect that maybe your emotional wellbeing is a little off-kilter." Just another thing he had failed: he had promised Hyourinmaru that he would come back safe – both physically and emotionally. He knew what he had to do, in order to atone somewhat for his sins, and he knew the dragon would hate him for it, if he didn't already._

_"I killed eighteen people," he raised a hand to stop any protests. "I killed them, regardless of whether it was with my own two hands or not. You tried to warn me before I left, tried to make me change my mind, but I was foolish and arrogant; I thought I knew better, that what I had chosen was for the best. I was wrong. And making a wrong decision as a captain is unforgivable, especially now of all times. I do not deserve you if I cannot even take even listen to you." Toushirou knew what was coming next, and he still agreed with the decision that he would make, though that never stopped him from regretting it._

_"I don't deserve to be in a partnership with you; partners need to have mutual trust and dependence but I have broken your trust, making it impossible for any kind of dependence."_

_"Toushirou, you saw what happened when you disregarded me for a day, what will happen if you were to close yourself off from me indefinitely?"_

_"I know that I won't make the same mistakes-"_

_"You already are! This stress has made you careless and irrational!"_

_"-because next time I will be prepared for your absence, and I will be better at magic; I'll also still have kido with me."_

_"Listen to me; you say you don't deserve me because you won't listen to my advice, well maybe you should listen now!" The desperation was starting to ring through the dragon's voice – he knew his master, and he knew that he was already set on his decision._

_"I need this! Please, I need you to understand!" It was then that Hyourinmaru noticed the slight sag to the boy's shoulders, and how his eyes were downcast. He was still so young, and yet all these pressures were thrust onto him and he was unable to cope. He was broken, yet he still tried to remain strong for those around him. _

_Hyourinmaru knew that he was punishing himself, but he could also see that he needed this brief separation in order to find peace within himself before he could possibly find peace with the rest of his soul. He didn't agree, but he could finally understand, and it was only due to concern and care that he made his reply._

_"Toushirou, I don't want you hurt, but I can see that you already are hurting. I will grant you this time away only if you promise that we will once more be united again."_

_"I promise," was the answer he received, full of conviction. If only they had both known that the guilt and feeling of worthlessness would just continue to stack on top of each other, and that Toushirou would never be able to forgive himself for the atrocities he would commit, nor would he ever be able to find peace._ I'm so sorry, Hyourinmaru.

_The darkness once more consumed him and he could only hope that he would finally wake up from this nightmare – there was nothing worse than looking back on a life riddled with mistakes and regret. Thankfully, his wish was finally granted as he felt the slight tugging at the corners of his consciousness that he knew meant that his senses were steadily becoming more aware._

Slowly opening his eyes with a small groan he saw that the gentle light was spilling through his window due to the gaps in his curtain, bathing the room in a soft glow. Standing up from the warm confines of his sheets he made it impossible for sleep to once more claim him, and instead walked quietly out of his room, hoping that nobody else was awake – he really didn't feel like talking to anyone at the moment. The house was eerily silent as Toushirou descended the stairs into the kitchen, lost in his thoughts.

"Morning Toushi!" The bright, chipper voice was the last thing he wanted to hear, especially when it was accompanied by such a ridiculous nickname. He instantly turned to face the person who had broken his thought patterns, a slight frown marring his face.

"Good Morning Tonks; I would actually prefer if you didn't butcher my name like that."

"Aw, you don't need to sound so stiff and formal around me!" She smiled kindly at him as he walked over to the fridge absentmindedly, as though looking for something that he hadn't yet thought of.

"Penny for your thoughts?"

"What?" He turned back to face her, a small, quizzical look now adorning his face.

"You looked like you were doing some pretty deep thinking just now; care to share?" A concerned look passed across her features as she studied him intently, trying to figure out the enigma of his mind.

"It's nothing, really..." She continued to stare, and with a small sigh he carefully sat down in a chair opposite her. He had no intention of revealing anything to her that could possibly lead to his identity in any way, but maybe he needed someone to talk to, to tell a few of his problems to, and it was so hard to say 'no' to Tonks when she had such a look of concern that was entirely pure in its intentions.

"I guess I'm just not... sleeping very well at the moment." A nice, general statement; he could probably pass off his mood as being caused by sleep deprivation. Her face formed a small frown of concern at this.

"Have you tried taking something to let you sleep better?"

"No, it'll be fine, I'm sure; I just need to give it a bit of time."

"Hmm..." The small, disbelieving noise that came as a reply was all that Toushirou needed to know that his story had not been accepted by her.

"Toushi, I know that you're a pretty secretive person, and I can respect that – everybody deserves their secrets. But, I can see that something is eating you up pretty badly inside, and it isn't healthy to keep something like suppressed. I've told you once, and I'll tell you again, as many times as I need to, if you ever need someone to talk to I will always listen." The use of the nickname went unnoticed as he let his head drop down onto his arms, which were folded on the polished oak of the table. He knew that she meant well, but he could never understand why she treated him like this – offering to hear his problems and whatnot – when she hardly even knew him.

"Cheer up Toushi, it's almost Christmas after all!" Mercifully, she left the room after that, leaving him to stew in his thoughts.

The next few days were uneventful and passed quickly, with the only notable thing happening being Mr Weasley arriving at the house, wrapped in bandages, but declared fit and healthy by the doctors, and Hermione arriving.

Now, Toushirou found himself standing at the door of his room, contemplating on leaving or not. _I could, or I could just stay in here and pretend I forgot._ For some reason he didn't think that would go down too well. However, the choice was taken away from him as the door suddenly burst open and the last person he wanted to see was on the other side of the door.

"Hurry up Toushirou! Come on." Harry grabbed the shorter boy's wrist and started to pull him out of the room; if he had wanted he could have resisted, but he figured it would be less painful to just give in.

Over the last few days Harry had stayed close by his side almost every hour of the day, meaning that Ron and Hermione had as well. He didn't mind Hermione's presence, but having Ron and Harry dogging his footsteps was extremely annoying, it became tiresome quickly. However, his frequent cold looks and glares had not deterred them in the slightest, and so he did have to give them points for commitment.

"Isn't this exciting? I just love Christmas!" They reached a room that could only be described as a living room, though Toushirou had not personally been inside it before. In the corner of the room sat a large Christmas tree, with its green branches decorated with ornaments and tinsel, lighting the room up with a festive mood.

Presents littered the ground beneath the tree, and Hitsugaya could see all the Weasley's, plus Sirius and Hermione, sitting in various places in the room, whether it be on a lounge or the ground. Everybody had already started to open their presents, so the room was filled with excited and surprised noises as they looked to see what they, and those around them, had received. Harry immediately went over to the tree and started to pick up all the parcels with his name on it, and took them over near Ron and Hermione.

Toushirou, however, was content to just sit next to the tree, a little away from everyone else. He hadn't been expecting the number of presents with his name written on them – some in elegant cursive, others in hasty chicken scratch. Reaching over he grabbed the first one he could reach and saw that it was rectangular, and felt much like a book. Thinking that it was from Hermione he read the card attached to it and saw, to his surprise that it actually wasn't. The note was only short, but the message rang loud and clear:

I understand that you don't want to share your problems with anyone,

but I still stand by that it isn't healthy to bottle your problems.

Therefore, I hope you make good use of this, and Merry Christmas.

Tonks

Unwrapping the paper he saw a beautifully bound book, with empty lined pages, waiting to be filled in. He wasn't sure that he would ever fill those pages, but the sentiment behind the present touched him greatly.

After an hour of unwrapping presents Toushirou had a small trove of 'treasures' that he had received, including: a book titled '_Great Witches and Wizards Through the Ages'_, a box of goods from the _Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes_ at 'no cost' as the note said, a small wizard chess set, a dark blue jumper with a dragon on the back (_Mrs Weasley must have talked to Hermione about things I liked_), a box of chocolate frogs ("Who doesn't like chocolates?" Ron muttered when he was stumped as to what would be a good present), another book titled '_Dark Wizards of the Past Century: What to look out for during your afternoon stroll'_ (despite the title, the book did indeed seem promising, especially in finding out information on Voldemort – he would need to thank Sirius later) and a strange little device that didn't appear to have any use whatsoever from Harry. All in all, Toushirou could safely say that he had no idea what all the fuss over Christmas had been about.

Over the other side of the room, Harry had just finished unwrapping all his presents as well, and he was looking over everything that he had received. However, there was one item that he felt inexplicably drawn to, and that was the ornament that Toushirou had bought, depicting a lion fighting a serpent, and winning, and it brought a small smile to his lips. _It makes me think of Gryffindor defeating Slytherin in the house cup._

It was definitely one of his favourite presents that he had gotten, and that surprised him, and made him feel a little guilty for only getting Toushirou a pocket sneakoscope. He had planned to see once and for all whether the boy was deceitful, but unfortunately, it had remained silent the entire time that it was inspected by curious aqua eyes. _I suppose it could just be because he isn't being deceitful at the moment..._ However, looking at the expression adorning the boy's face, one that was so much more open than normal, it was hard for Harry to believe his own paranoia. _I've followed him around for the better part of five days, yet I've seen nothing suspicious. Maybe there really isn't anything there to see._

A small frown tugged at the corners of his lips as he refused to believe that he was wrong – there were just too many oddities about this situation, and about the boy, for there to be nothing strange about him._ Maybe I really should go and talk to Dumbledore; he would be able to sort this out for me._ However, that idea wasn't particularly appealing to Harry given that, for some reason, Dumbledore had seemed to be avoiding him lately. _I suppose I'll just have to wait a bit longer; maybe he'll finally show his true colours when term goes back._

However, a few answers came a lot quicker than the beginning of term, and with those answers came a whole lot more questions, increasing Harry's own suspicion and paranoia.

Around lunchtime the occupants of the house started to migrate to the kitchen for a Christmas lunch, and Harry was currently walking alongside Ron and Hermione, talking – or in Ron's case, complaining – about the amount of homework that the teachers had cruelly issued them during the holidays.

"It just isn't fair, I mean, this should be a time to take a break!"

"Seriously Ron, it's in your best interests – we _do_ have our OWLS at the end of this year. What would you do if you failed, hmm? Or better yet, what would your mum do?" Ron paled a little at Hermione's last question, but still seemed to see the need in arguing his point.

"Yeah, but it's _Christmas_," he stated emphatically, as though this was all the proof that he needed for the teachers of Hogwarts to lighten the workload.

"It doesn't even take long at all-"

"Wait, you've already finished? Why am I not surprised?" A small indignant look flitted across her face at his remark.

"Of course I have, because I actually care about my schooling, unlike-" Suddenly, she cut herself off as she looked at the dark haired boy on the other side of her, who had been oddly quiet. Looking closely at Harry, she could see that he wasn't even paying attention, and was, instead, looking up stairs somewhere. Noticing the lack of conversation he managed to pull his mind back in and looked at Ron and Hermione, who appeared slightly concerned.

"I can't seem to remember where I left my wand; I think I'll just quickly check my room otherwise I won't be able to concentrate at all during lunch."

"Oh, yeah, we'll meet you down at lunch then." Turning around Harry slowly started to climb the stairs again, feeling only slightly guilty for deceiving his closest friends. Two landings above him he could see a door that was usually firmly shut, but now stood slightly ajar, and he realised that this opportunity was too good to pass up. Reaching the door, he quickly checked around to make sure that nobody was around, and then slipped inside, making sure to leave the door at the same angle it had been in before he entered the room.

Looking around the room, Harry could see that it was completely clean, with not even one item out of place, bar the presents on the bed that had yet to receive a place in the room's occupant's trunk. _Wow, Toushirou is pretty tidy – I wonder if he's a neat-freak?_ Unsure of where to start, and not knowing how much time he would have, Harry decided to start at the most obvious place – the boy's trunk which held all of his belongings.

Carefully opening the lid Harry allowed himself to groan a little as he saw how neatly packed in everything was – it would be difficult to get everything back within the trunk in exactly the way it was now._ Well, I won't know until I try._ Muffled sounds wafted up through the floorboards from the people downstairs, and Harry felt his muscles tense slightly as he started to shift around in the trunk, trying to find anything strange or out of place.

Every tiny noise sounded too loud in his ears as blood started to pump faster through his veins. If there was one thing that he did know about Toushirou, it was that he valued his privacy, almost above all else, and if he saw Harry violating his privacy then... he would probably be _very_ mad.

After a few minutes that felt like hours, Harry's fingers brushed up against a piece of paper, and without thinking he withdrew it from the trunk. It was folded in half and slightly crumpled – completely unremarkable – and he would have put it back after a cursory glance had it not been written in Japanese. Instead, he found himself stuffing it into a pocket before righting the contents of the trunk and standing up.

He couldn't waste anymore time, and he doubted Toushirou would miss a small piece of paper; though the fact that it had been at the very bottom of the trunk was a bit suspicious. However, not suspicious enough to have warranted the room search. Quickly, Harry left the room, his muscles bunching and his nerves jumping as he walked away from the room. He had reached the stairs when a voice sounded from the bottom of the stairs.

"I was told to go and find you; what's taking so long?" Harry nearly jumped at the cool tone, and his eyes briefly met with Toushirou's, before he averted them, staring at a point on the wall behind him.

"Nothing, I was just pretty engrossed in trying to find my wand – though I managed to find it at the bottom of my trunk. How it got there I will never know." He smiled slightly, hoping his story would stick, a small smile creeping onto his face.

"Hn..."

Throughout lunch the small piece of paper felt like a hot piece of iron, burning against his leg, and he refused to meet Toushirou's eyes, just knowing that if he did the shorter boy would be able to read what Harry had done. However, he soon allowed himself to get caught up in the festivities during the day, playing games, laughing and just having fun, and the little note was pushed to the back of his mind.

Toushirou, however, was extremely suspicious – Harry had been acting strangely since lunchtime and he didn't know why. Though, he suspected that it had something to do with him since Harry made a point of not even looking in his direction if he could help it.

When Harry finally made it to his bed later that night, he collapsed backwards, a silly grin on his face – it had been a good day. A small crackling sounded as he sifted on the covers beneath him, and he put his hand in his pocket, his fingers closing around the stolen piece of paper. With a weary glance at the sleeping form of Ron, Harry quietly drew out his wand and tapped the paper with a spell that Hermione had once showed him that could translate words into English.

It had been particularly helpfully when translating information from a Russian book when trying to write his History of Magic essay – though he had never thought that he would use the spell again, especially for something not related to school. The letters started to morph and change, moving around on the page to be decipherable by his English eyes, until he could clearly read what was written on it, and with every word his eyes widened.

**1. Find more out about Voldemort – what is the relevance of him, and what is his purpose?**

**2. Keep closer eye on Harry – ****No Excuses**

**3. Find out more about the linked dream – how did it happen? ****Why**** did it happen?**

**3. Investigate more into the arrancar around Hogwarts – if Ron had come back than were some other, less desirable arrancar back as well, even General Potter himself?**

**4. Make Dumbledore believe Voldemort created this 'new' type of magic – divert all suspicion from the shinigami and from me**

**5. Keep up the pretences of a student – nobody must find out the real reason**

**6. Keep Hermione safe**

It appeared to be some kind of list, written in an elegant script, and Harry narrowed his surprised eyes as he recognised the writing as belonging to Hitsugaya Toushirou. _What is this?_

* * *

Author's Notes

I usually don't do these, but this is an extremely special occasion - Harry Potter 7 Part 2 came out and it was amazing! I'm sooooooooo sad that it's over, and I'm pretty sure I cried in the movie, but I can't believe that it's over :O Did everyone else think that it was great, or is it just me *cough*absolutely devoted harry Potter fan here*cough*

* * *

Reply to Reviews:

Otaku HoLic, Freya, ame48010, Sapphire Insanity, Ziya Hitsugaya, JacinthX, NanaoGoesBleh, AlecksPopsFireworks, too-much-inspiration, Corisanna, ZoeyExtreme, CoreldeCortavar, animeloveramy, hitsugayataichoda, Millie M. Banshee, Light Lamperouge, DishyFishy-SnakeandCrane, DXmaryoOD, Nordlicht, poolitzer, FullmetalKeyblade-13, Lady Queria, Furionknight, xTKx and bella hawke: Thanks to all of you for reviewing my story - you're all absolutely amazing!

I don't have any time at the moment to write out responses to all your reviews, but I thought that you had all waited long enough for the next chapter, so I'll write them when I can get a chance to XD


	21. Very very sorry authors note

To all those lovely people who have read my story and have put it on alert, or are just waiting for me to continue on with the show,

I have been doing my last year of school this year, and at the end of last year, and so I haven't had any access to my computer (because I get distracted easily :/ ) so that I could concentrate wholly on school, and so I haven't updated any of my stories, for which I'm very sorry. However, as of last Friday, I am now relinquished from those evil ties that have bound me to the educational institution for so many years, and I will now continue with this story, which I would never give up in a cabillion years , so expect an actual chapter update within the week.

From your extremely apologetic author,

Jazflower


	22. Chapter 19

Finally, I present to you the next chapter of my story, and I would like to very much apologise for my tardiness in posting. I know I wrote an authors note, but I would again like to say sorry for the year+ long wait for this chapter, and then the month of waiting after my authors note. I had originally written the chapter, but then I completely re-wrote it because apparently it is extremely hard to get back into the swing of things after taking such a long break - who knew! :) Anyway, I think this chapter might still be a bit strange, and a little left-field, but hopefully you all still like it :)

* * *

_The letters started to morph and change, moving around on the page to be decipherable by his English eyes, until he could clearly read what was written on it, and with every word his eyes widened._

_**Find more out about Voldemort – what is the relevance of him, and what is his purpose?**_

_**Keep closer eye on Harry – **__**No Excuses**_

_**Find out more about the linked dream – how did it happen? **__**Why**__** did it happen?**_

_**Investigate more into the arrancar around Hogwarts – if Ron had come back than were some other, less desirable arrancar back as well, even General Potter himself?**_

_**Make Dumbledore believe Voldemort created this 'new' type of magic – divert all suspicion from the shinigami and from me**_

_**Keep up the pretences of a student – nobody must find out the real reason**_

_**Keep Hermione safe**_

_It appeared to be some kind of list, written in an elegant script, and Harry narrowed his surprised eyes as he recognised the writing as belonging to Hitsugaya Toushirou. _What is this_?_

* * *

Chapter 19

The first rays of sun began to peek over the horizon, small birds chirping happily; a scene of peace and serenity. Toushirou slowly rolled over in his bed, staring intently at the ceiling above him, a small frown marring his features, oblivious to the scene outside. He had been awake for a few hours now, concentrating on the slightly fluctuating reiatsu next door, trying to figure out why it was so different to normal.

For some reason it felt muted, suppressed, which made it difficult to pin down._ What are you thinking, Harry?_ He should just go in there and question the boy, but he was asleep, and so this could all be a result of some dream that he was having. It was much too risky to do anything at the present moment. Content to just stay where he was, Toushirou let his eyes drift shut, though he knew sleep would be impossible.

The sudden pressure slammed into him with a heavy fist, and he jumped out of bed, sheets and pillows flying, muscles tensed. With a small pause, he located the new reiatsu, realising that it was just lots of small hollow, rather than one, incredibly strong hollow.

It was strange that this should occur – England had been hollow-free for centuries; they shouldn't start appearing for another few months or so. This meant that there were no shinigami close to be able to take care of them. _What a pain_. It was still early, so hopefully his presence wouldn't be missed. Grabbing his sword he jumped from his window, allowing the spirit particles to gather under his feet, pushing him forwards at inhuman speeds.

He was right, of course, about the level of the hollows, as he easily disposed of them, though it was curious that they had been there at all. Aqua eyes swept over the area, trying to decipher the puzzle, with no result, but something seemed off. Taking a few steps forward, gravel and glass crunching underfoot, he continued to search._ So many weak hollows with no apparent reason for being here…_

Muscles still tensed, Toushirou slowly turned around, preparing to head back to Grimmauld Place. However, before he could take even three steps, something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. Adjusting his direction, Toushirou went over to a small pile of rubble and gingerly picked up an envelope. The object itself was not unusual, but he could detect faint traces of an unknown reiatsu on it, and the moment he saw what was written on it his brow furrowed.

Hitsugaya Toushirou

Taicho of the 10th Division of the Gotei 13

12 Grimmauld Place, London

Somebody was toying with him. It was the only reason why he would receive another letter – and he knew that if he opened it, there would be nothing inside, just like last time.

_His name was written clearly on the front with a barely legible – though somehow familiar – script, but as he read it he noticed something was off about the way it was addressed, and as he stared at it for a few minutes he realised what it was. On the front of the letter was written:_

_Hitsugaya Toushirou_

_Taicho of the 10__th__ Division of the Gotei 13_

_Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry_

_ He made a small choking noise and immediately stuffed the letter into his bag, and at the same time standing up out of his chair in order to leave. The twins looked at him as he tried to make his hasty get away and looked at him in curiosity. Hitsugaya left the hall as fast as he could without making it look like he was hurrying, fully aware of two sets of blue eyes on his back as the twins watched him. After he had escaped the hall he walked swiftly through the halls to get to his first class, where the classroom would most likely be empty. As he entered the charms classroom he saw that it, thankfully, was empty and so he withdrew the strange envelope from his bag. _

_He ripped off the seal and opened the envelope to find... nothing. The envelope was completely empty, no letter, no anything.__His brow furrowed as he tried to understand what it meant. He carefully slit along the seams of the envelope and opened it out flat so that it looked like a normal piece of paper, but still there was nothing._ Why would somebody go out of their way to send me an owl to give me an envelope with no letter? It doesn't make any sense. _There was also the issue of how it was addressed._

Someone had deliberately let loose numerous weak hollow to draw his attention… _Well, you have it_. Analytical eyes surveyed the mess that he had already inspected, noting that the thin rays of light were becoming bolder as the morning wore on; his presence would soon be missed from the house. Treading carefully, he seemed to almost glide gracefully, though there was nothing left to see.

With a sigh, Toushirou once more started to return to the house when the air shifted. It was only slight, but with his senses already hyper-aware, they managed to detect the change. It wasn't more hollow, but at the same time… it was? He couldn't understand what he was sensing. However, whatever it was, it was clearly an invitation, as he could feel a path through the air._ Do I have time?_

Being this far away from Harry made him a little uneasy, but it was getting to the point where he wasn't even sure if there _was_ something wrong with the scarred boy. He acted just like every other hormonal, angsty teenager, and Toushirou wasn't entirely convinced that his presence was going to make one bit of a difference in regards to the events that would unfold. With his resolve strengthened, Toushirou started to follow the carefully laid trail – he might as well solve this mystery while he was here.

_ "Harry! Hurry up; we're going to be late for class!" Harry's head snapped up, a red imprint left on his arm from where it had been resting. With a small groan he pulled himself to his feet as quickly as he could manage, lest he be exposed to Hermione's infamous 'disapproving stare'. He noticed that Ron was in the same predicament as he was – but what sane person wouldn't sleep during their break?_

_ "We need to go to the dungeons and you _know_ how forgiving Snape is when anyone is late." The mention of the dreaded potions master seemed to put some life back into the two boys, and soon all three of them were hurrying down the corridors and flying down the stairs. It was no secret that Snape hated Gryffindors, nor was it a secret that he hated the 'Golden Trio' even more._

_ With only seconds to spare, the three sat themselves within the dim confines of, in Harry's opinion, hell, surrounded by the familiar faces of their peers. Across the room, Malfoy sneered at him. _Some things just never change_, Harry thought to himself._

_ "You are to open your books to page 426; the instructions are on the board." Snape entered the room with a bang as the heavy door slammed behind him. Flowing writing filled the board with a quick flick of the wrist, and Harry inspected it carefully before opening his book. It wasn't a particularly hard method, but that could be deceiving, especially since they were making Moonseed Poison. Poisons were never easy. _Why are we making this? It isn't part of our syllabus.

_The small, nagging thought was instantly pushed to the back of his subconscious mind. The lesson wasn't entirely unenjoyable, though Harry could feel Snape's watchful eye lingering on him every so often, as though expecting him to make a mistake._ I won't give you a chance to insult me_._

_ "Are you almost finished, Harry?" He looked over to Hermione, noticing that she was done, and a small smile graced his lips. She was just too smart._

_ "I guess; I just need to add these moonseeds, and then let it simmer." She nodded approvingly before turning to Ron, the same question on her lips. Where would they be without her, always lending her guidance?_

_ "This is a scene that might never happen again…" Harry jolted in his seat, turning to face the new presence that washed over him. However, there was no one there, though the voice _was_ familiar._

_ "Hermione will never help you again – she isn't your friend; she's an ally of the enemy now, even if it is unknowingly." _The enemy?_ The room began to dissolve, washing away as though it had never existed, the faces of his friends disappearing. With a start, the young boy leapt to his feet, his chair toppling soundlessly to the ground._

_ "Wait!" He stretched out a hand, but was unable to reach them; an irrational fear of loneliness filling his being. It was a cold sensation._

_ "They won't wait – they're being destroyed, Harry, and only you have the power to save them. You saw the note at the bottom of Hitsugaya's trunk." The message… It had baffled him, yet left him with a feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. What did it mean? Was it proof that the white haired boy held allegiances with Voldemort?_

_ "Perhaps… But perhaps Voldemort is not the enemy?"_

_ "Of course he is! If he isn't, than who is?" It was preposterous to even give thought to the idea. What had they been fighting against – what reason had so many of their numbers died over the years? To say Voldemort was not the enemy meant accepting that it had all been meaningless. He received only a small "hmm" in reply._

_ "I don't know what to do. I've tried to kill him… But that didn't work out too well. And to be honest, it's easy to think like this when he isn't around, but when he is, I almost feel… sorry for him, and I don't know why." The mysterious man chuckled deeply._

_ "I can show you how things could happen if Hitsugaya had never come to Hogwarts; I can show you interactions between you and your friends. Nothing would have changed, in fact, you would have become closer. I allowed you to see, just now, a scenario of a regular day – were you not content? Tell me, Harry, when was the last time you felt content? And now tell me, what is the source of your discontent?" He paused, as though allowing time for an answer, though Harry was unable to find his tongue._

_ "One strange boy has changed everything – and now you have proof that he isn't all that he seems! Why must he keep a closer eye on you if he wasn't plotting nefarious deeds?" It all made complete sense in the scarred boy's mind. He had thought all along that Toushirou was suspicious; up to no good._ I need to tell Dumbledore._ The thought was intense, yet obvious. Dumbledore had avoided him for some reason all year, but now he would have to pay attention to him – this was an urgent situation._

_ "Why is he at Hogwarts?" Who the person was, or how they knew any of this had been rendered irrelevant in the back of his mind._

_ "Isn't it obvious? He's creating an army – that note already suggests that he has created some new type of magic, the creation of which has been blamed on Voldemort. He will destroy the wizarding world, and all that you hold dear." Harry was frozen._ An a-army?_ Could they defend against an entire army? Was that why he was at Hogwarts – to learn their ways and to inhibit the magical development of the youth so that they would be unable to amass a counterattack? It was fiendish…_

_ "But there is a way, though it doesn't appear favourable at first."_

_ "What is it?"_

_ "You won't like it…"_

_ "I don't care! If it means saving this world, then I will do anything." Fire burned within his emerald orbs, highlighting his determination. He had nothing to return to should this world perish – it was the only place he belonged, and he would protect it to his last breath-_

_ "Team up with Voldemort." _

_ -so that nobody would die, even if that meant sacrificing himself. Ron, Hermione, the Weasleys, Dumbledore… The list was endless-_

_ Harry jerked his head in the general direction of the mysterious speaker, his eyes widening to the size of saucers. He could not have heard what he thought he did._

_ "Excuse me?"_

_ "I said, 'team up with Voldemort'."_ H-he's serious? Why would I do that?

_ "Just because Voldemort isn't our immediate enemy doesn't mean that he isn't still evil!" This man was an idiot, and Harry was beginning to regret ever listening to him, though he wished he knew who the voice belonged to; it was so familiar…_

_ "Our enemy's enemy is our friend… correct? Hitsugaya and his army threaten the death-eaters just as much as it threatens us. You may find that a temporary truce will be incredibly beneficial." Harry started to shake his head slowly, and then more vigorously._

_ "It doesn't matter what you say – he killed my parents!"_

_ "But Harry, we've already moved past that – we're stronger than that, and did you not say that you would do _anything_ to protect the wizarding world?"_

_ "Well, yes… but I didn't expect this. And what do you mean 'we'?" The stranger stepped forward, light striking their features, and Harry gasped in surprise. Staring back at him was… well, it was him. It was like looking into a mirror._

_ "When have I ever led you astray? This isn't the first time we've talked, though it is the first time face to face. I've told you before, I'm your one true friend, and I would never suggest this if I believed for one second that there was another way." How could he argue against himself? Everything that had been said sounded logical – it was just his own bias that had prevented him from agreeing to it. Shaking slightly, Harry looked into identical green eyes._

_ "I guess… to protect everyone, I can sacrifice my own hatred… Ok, let's team up with him." The words left a sour taste in his mouth, and a small, niggling thought at the back of his mind tried to seep through to his subconscious: isn't working with Voldemort what you were accusing Toushirou of – doesn't this mean that you're no better than he is? Worse, because this is proof that he isn't working for your hated enemy? However, the boy who lived, hailed as the saviour of the wizarding world, squashed this thought, missing the sly grin that briefly graced his doppelganger's face._

A taxi flew past as Albus Dumbledore walked resolutely down the street, his robe swishing about his feet. However, despite his attire, nobody gave him a second glance, much too busy with their own schedules to spare the old man another thought. This suited him perfectly. He was currently in Tokyo, a bustling hub of activity, but it was as though he was separate from the world around him, a feeling that was intensified as he stepped off the street into a clean, well air-conditioned building, the doors closing behind him and eliminating all of the outside noise.

Passing by the receptionist, who merely pressed a button at his arrival, Dumbledore strode through the building until he reached a solid, oak door. Rapping his knuckled, he waited.

"Enter." A middle-aged man sat dwarfed by a magnificently carved chair that was so out of place in the modern office.

"Please, sit, I trust your trip was enjoyable?" Dark, penetrating eyes showed that the small talk was only a formality; he desired to know why, exactly, Albus Dumbledore, a renowned figure in the world of magic, was sitting opposite him.

"It was; thank you." Dumbledore surveyed the individual across from him: Hirota Kamui, the Japanese Minister for Magic, a startling powerful person who achieved his position through sheer power. He was not someone to be trifled with.

"If you would beg my pardon, but what business do you have in Japan?"

"Yes, of course. I would like information concerning your school of magic, if I may." A suspicious and weary expression clouded the man's face; it was no secret that each country liked to hold its magical secrets close to its heart, even with something as innocent as a school.

"Why?" The demand was softly spoken, but direct. Getting information would not be easy.

"I have recently acquired a Japanese transfer student, and I need to know just where his education stands in comparison with his peers."

"Are you implying that we offer substandard education?"

"Of course not minister, but I understand that there will be differences of focus." The answer appeared to placate the younger man, the tension visibly leaving his shoulders.

"I see; I hope you know that I can only give you basic information regarding the school."

"Yes, as the headmaster for Hogwarts, I am well aware of this fact." Hirota grunted in response before continuing.

"Our _Takasugi no majikku no gakkou_ was founded by Takasugi Sui around the same time that your Hogwarts was founded, but I'll spare you the history lesson. We place an importance on the practical aspect of magic and aim to provide students-" The minister continued to speak, but Dumbledore was lost in thought, thinking of the name the minister had just given. Literally translated, it meant 'Takasugi's School of magic', obviously being named after the school's founder…

"_Oh, well, what school do you come from Mr Hitsugaya?"_

_ "Well it's special... I'm not really meant to talk about it but since I want to attend your school I guess I have to trust you. It's not like any other magic school and you probably haven't heard of it before – that's the aim – but it deals with... sword fighting mixed with magic. It teaches the same sort of syllabus but it prepares us for work in the... Special Forces and covert ops, because the government has deemed that anybody with magical abilities must work for them and there is no escaping it unless... you move to another country. That's why I'm here because I don't want to be part of the government system. The school I went to was called... Seireiti School of Magical Fighting."_

When Dumbledore had met the curious boy, he had used a different name… Perhaps the school had a second name, or there were multiple magic schools in Japan. When there was a lull, Dumbledore jumped in.

"Minister, I've heard curious rumours that there was another school – The Seireitei School of Magical Fighting – where students were trained in the use of magic and swords in order to work for the government." The minister tensed, his eyes snapping in anger.

"Where did you hear this absurd rumour? There is no such school here, and I would thank you not to mention this rumour elsewhere. If someone was to believe that we would use our young school children in such a manner…" He trailed off, his anger not allowing him to continue. After a moment he managed to regain his cool composure, though there was an icy quality about his being; to him, he and his country had just been insulted by a foreigner.

"If that is all, then perhaps we should wrap up our meeting; I am a busy man after all."

"Of course, and please, I meant no offense by my words. I was merely reiterating a nugget of information that I had heard." Hirota bowed his head slightly, accepting the apology, while still politely ushering the headmaster from his office.

Once outside, Dumbledore allowed his thoughts to roam. Toushirou had stated that Japanese students were not allowed to talk about this special magic school, and so Hirota's answer could be just a cover up in order to deny its existence. However, he had never truly believed the young boy's explanation of where he had come from in the first place, so it was very likely that he had not even come from Japan; his appearance didn't lend any indication of his nationality so they only had his word on the subject._ Where did you come from?_ Lost in his musings, the old man wandered, hopefully finding answers along the way.

With a sigh, he realised that he was at a dead end; there was no way to continue looking into the mysterious boy's origins without getting some more answers from him.

"Unless…" Dumbledore was certain that the boy knew something about those strange creatures that occasionally attacked Hogwarts: Hollow. Perhaps if he found information concerning them, he may find information about Toushirou, and he knew where to go.

With a set destination in mind, the headmaster apparated, appearing in front of a small shop named 'Urahara Shoten'. When he had first started his role as headmaster, he was given information regarding the various aspects of the school, including, briefly, the hollow and the magical barrier erected to protect the school. However, he was told that if this barrier should ever fail then he was to come to this shop, in the town of Karakura in Japan.

The barrier had been created by an Urahara Kisuke a few hundred years ago, and so he could only assume that the secrets had been passed down through the generations. He wasn't sure how long this specific shop had existed, but it was lucky for him that it was still there.

A young boy with red hair inspected him from outside the shop, a broom clutched in his hands.

"Chotto, daredearuka." Dumbledore smiled at the foreign words as the boy asked who he was – he doubted that the boy would know English.

"Albus Dumbledore; watashi hakokoni Urahara-san wo miru kotoiru." The boy looked at him curiously as he stated that he wanted to see Urahara – not many people enjoyed the unusual man's presence. With a small grunt he merely pointed inside the shop. Obviously he felt no obligation to accompany him inside.

The interior was small and dingy, and Dumbledore's eyes were able to trace along the rows of candy, magazines and other miscellaneous items. He couldn't imagine that such a place would be popular.

"May I help you, Sir?" The use of English was a surprise, though the man's sudden appearance was even more so. Blonde hair was covered by a green and white striped hat, the brim sitting low on his face and casting low shadows over his eyes. The rest of his face was obscured by an oriental fan, though Dumbledore got the distinct impression that the man was smirking.

"I'm looking for an Urahara," he stated wearily, perturbed by the other man, who just watched him.

"That would be me; Urahara Kisuke at your service Dumbledore-san." The honorific, so out of place in the English sentence, was stretched out more than necessary as though in mockery of the headmaster. Dumbledore started at the use of his name, but before he could speak, the other man continued.

"I heard that you had come to Japan, but I didn't think that you would venture to my humble abode. To what do I owe this great pleasure?"

"I would like information on hollows." Urahara raised his eyebrows, though the act was lost beneath his hat.

"Ooohhh, hollow you say?"

"I was told, many years ago that if the barrier surrounding Hogwarts, created by one of your ancestors, ever failed, then I was to seek you out. This means that you should know about these monsters." Urahara was quiet for a moment before snapping his fan shut.

"For what reason do you need this information?" This was not a favourable situation to be in; it was a meeting of two worlds that should never have met. Back when he had been the captain of the twelfth division, Urahara had noticed small disturbances in reshii throughout the world, which had piqued his curiosity. After intensive, personal investigations, he had been able to pinpoint the location of one such disturbance in Britain, at a place called 'Hogwarts'.

He had been surprised to learn that it was a school of magic users, but he had soon found it to be vulnerable to hollow, who were attracted to the large gathering of spirit particles. He had chosen to lend aid to the current headmaster by establishing a barrier around the school, though he had made the mistake of being noticed. After his Hogwarts escapade, he had sought to do the same in other magical hotspots in order to minimise the occurrence of hollow, though he kept his work secret, and was not spotted again by any wizards or witches.

He had allowed the presence of the wizarding world to be a closely guarded secret – the shinigami were not ready for the information; they would see the wizards as a threat – he had already seen what had happened to the quincies. Never had he ever imagined that his name would be passed on to each new headmaster, or that they would keep tabs on him. The magical folk were a resourceful bunch to have been able to find him here.

"There have been several instances lately where these 'hollow' have been able to pass through into the grounds of Hogwarts, even injuring a student." The fan was back, allowing the deceitfully old man to maintain his façade of cool composure, yet his mind was reeling. It should be impossible… Unless there was a significantly high reiatsu inside the barrier that was interfering with it.

"How curious; is the student alright?"

"Yes, I have long since discovered that he is incredibly resilient, but this worries me. It won't be long until they enter into the main area of the school, and if this happens then they will wreak havoc." The worry was obvious in the usually sparkling blue eyes.

"How far into the grounds did it get?"

"Only as far as the Forbidden Forest, which is a fair distance from the castle." That was puzzling – why did the hollow stop if it was already in the grounds? Perhaps there is more to the situation…

"A student was injured, you say… What became of the hollow?"

"It was gone before I reached the scene." Could the student have something to do with it disappearing? It seemed unlikely – only very strong magic could harm them, and he didn't believe that a mere student would possess the necessary power or skill. However…

"Tell me about this student that was harmed."

"Hitsugaya Toushirou, our new exchange student, is… a peculiar one, and I get the distinct impression that he knows more about hollow than he's letting on." The natural direction of the conversation was a stroke of luck – hopefully he would be able to finally learn more about everything that was going on.

"Ehhhh, Hitsugaya-kun? Interesting." He tilted his head down slightly, obscuring more of his face, though Dumbledore caught a glimpse of a puzzled expression before the man returned to normal, a knowing smirk in place.

"I see; it would seem you have nothing to worry about. Hitsugaya is nothing if not capable – you just need to trust him." It was the strangest answer Dumbledore could have received; it was obvious this man knew the student, but to expect him to trust the dubious child? It was absurd!

"I'm afraid I'm not quite sure what you mean Mr Urahara when you say to trust him."

"If Hitsugaya is there, I promise you that none of your students will be harmed, and I can also assure you that the barrier is perfectly fine. Is there anything else that I can do for you?" He heard the dismissal strongly, realising that he would receive no more answers from this strange man – though he had ended up with more questions than answers.

"No; thank you for your time." _Just who are you, Toushirou?_

As soon as Dumbledore left the small shop, Urahara lowered his fan thoughtfully. It was impossible for Hitsugaya to be at Hogwarts – as far as he knew, he was the only shinigami who knew about the wizarding world. Though, it would make sense, since his reiatsu was definitely high enough to interfere with the barrier surrounding the school.

"I think I might look into this."

The path was ridiculous, Toushirou concluded after nearly two hours of following the slowly fading trail. It had led him all over London, through parks, over roads, near shops, yet never did it give an indication of a final destination._ I'm a fool; I've been played again! Why did I think this would actually lead somewhere?_ His level of frustration and anger was slowly rising, and because he was in muggle London nobody could see him and so he had to make a concentrated effort to avoid those around him._ What a nuisance._

The sun had managed to break through the layer of clouds, shining weak rays that served to raise the temperature just enough to be irritating, and he was just about ready to give up and return to Grimmauld Place when he felt a small surge of power not too far away.

Quelling the excitement, Toushirou shunpo-ed forward, gathering more speed as he finally felt close to the end. Slowing down, so as to not rush foolishly into an unknown situation, he zeroed in on the power level – only one – and gauged the strength. If it came down to a fight, he was confident that he would be able to win.

"Welcome, Hitsugaya Taicho, I'm glad you could make it." He froze; every fibre of his being telling him to run, to get away from that suave voice._ How? I didn't recognise his reiatsu at all._

"It's been a little while since our last chat, though I was terribly disappointed with its outcome. So many questions left unanswered."

_Why is he here? Why haven't the shinigami picked up on his presence in the Living World – there's no way he would have been able to conceal it enough to prevent detection?_ Toushirou levelled him with a cool glare, his mind thinking of ways to escape; he would be unable to face him in his current state._ Aizen Sosuke, what are you doing here?_ Aizen walked forward, a smirk on his face as he looked at his prey.

It had been much too long since he had last visited this world, and so he had decided to make this trip personally. Ulquiorra and Gin were sufficient in keeping Los Noches running for a little while, and he had to make a business call anyway, so he figured he might as well stretch his legs a little. And it was always so enjoyable to see the expressions on his opponent's face as they were overwhelmed.

"I don't have too much time here, I'm afraid, and so I would hope that you answer all my questions this time, Hitsugaya-kun." Toushirou continued to glare, slowly moving backwards in preparation to run. He didn't know why or how Aizen was here, but that was irrelevant, all that mattered in his mind was finding safety away from this dangerous man. It wasn't like last time: he couldn't get beaten up and then wake up, fine and unharmed.

Suddenly long, strong fingers gripped his chin, forcing his face to look upwards into the eyes of the devil.

"I don't wish for this meeting to be unpleasant, so tell me _why_ you are at Hogwarts and perhaps you will be able to leave here with all your limbs attached."

"Screw you, bastard!" He managed to spit it out around his clenched teeth, wincing slightly as the grip tightened around his chin.

"Must we go through this again? I had hoped you might be more agreeable if we were to meet in an open area, but it would seem this is not the case."

"Are you the one who sent me those letters?" Aizen faltered for a second, curiosity gracing his features.

"Letters? I would never do something so obvious as a letter – didn't you follow my reiatsu trail to get here?" It was a dead end; he had hoped to find the answer to that small mysterious at the end of the proverbial rabbit-hole, but it would seem that he wouldn't even be allowed that small bit of enlightenment. Aizen sighed.

"Perhaps we started off in the wrong direction. You are at Hogwarts, this is a fact. The shinigami have no knowledge of the wizarding world, this is also a fact. However, these two facts cannot coexist, which poses a bit of an unusual situation, ne? What it means is that you are working independently from Soul Society; so my question is how did you find out about Hogwarts, and what do you hope to achieve there? You have no backup, and you're possibly unable to return to Seireitei – an unexplained leave of absence usually leads to this eventuality – and so I can attack you, kill you and the Gotei 13 will be none the wiser."

As he was talking, his eyes pierced through the young boy, their intensity setting his nerves alight, as though trying to decipher the answer within the aqua depths.

"Maybe you should get your facts right, _Aizen_." The contempt dripped from his mouth as he spoke the hated traitor's name; a little bluffing may be enough to get him out of this situation. He swiftly brought a hand up, swiping Aizen's arm away and freeing himself from the imprisoning grip. He stood proud and defiant, the air dropping around him.

"The shinigami are well aware of the wizard community that exists harmoniously with the none-magical world. They also know about your involvement with Voldemort, so don't think yourself so superior; you're not the only ones with answers." In reality, Toushirou wasn't even sure of Aizen's connection with the mysterious man from his dreams, who he had assumed to be Voldemort, but he was satisfied to see the startled look briefly cross the man's face. _So Aizen and Voldemort are working together? That doesn't sound like it would end well._

Still looking at the man opposite him, standing almost dejectedly, he was taken by surprise as he looked down, the tip of a blade protruding from his side. It was so eerily similar to their last encounter that it almost felt as though he would see Los Noches surrounding him if he were to look at his environment. The blade pulled free with a sickening squelch. However, there was no pain and he realised that he wasn't actually stabbed._ So it's mind games today?_

He turned sharply, unable to detect Aizen. _It's now or never_. He started to run in a random direction, adrenaline lending his muscles strength and speed, blood pumping loudly in his ears. No matter how many times he faced Aizen, no matter how much he hated and loathed him, he had never been able to disregard his fear, a weakness that he abhorred.

He was only dimly aware as his feet left the ground, his body crashing sideways into a building, creating a large crater. The pain was all too real as he gingerly pulled himself to his feet, blood slowly running down his face and arms. It was stupid to think that he could outrun the other shinigami when he was already trapped in his world of illusion.

"I'm disappointed, Hitsugaya-kun. I thought you might have gotten further." The words were spoken right into his ear, and he spun around to view empty air. To be referred to in such a familiar way made his blood boil.

"Where are you; show yourself!" It was cowardly for him to hide behind cloak and daggers, shrouded in illusion. How could he have a fair fight when he always employed such underhanded tactics?_ He doesn't care about fair, only winning._

"Right here." The air exploded from his lungs as the hilt of a sword slammed into his chest, ribs splintering from the force. Hitsugaya dropped to one knee, clutching an arm tightly around himself, blood flecks falling from his lips and breathing laboured. _Concentrate!_ He couldn't lose without putting up even a little resistance._ There!_

He brought his sword up in time to hear metal clashing against metal, pushing with enough power to force the opposing blade away. Ignoring the way that his body screamed and protested, Toushirou drew himself once more to his feet, adopting a defensive stance. If he stayed stationary and remained concentrating solely on Aizen he should, in theory, be able to defend himself.

It wasn't something a normal person was able to do, but he had many years of experience fighting continually against Aizen, and this version wasn't nearly as strong as what he would become._ I can do this._

Time seemed irrelevant, going too slow, too fast, or not at all as the two swords continued to clash, again and again, caught in a deadly stalemate. However, Toushirou could feel himself tiring, the muscles in his arms straining, and blood oozing from the various cuts littering his body. Though, he felt a person victory with the fact that Aizen hadn't managed to force him to move an inch.

"Unfortunately I grow weary with this game, and I do have places to be." As he finished his sentence, the traitorous shinigami disappeared from sight. Toushirou felt his eyes grow wider._ Oh, shi-_ He was unable to finish his thought as pain spread through his being, his eyes sliding shut as he felt onto the unforgiving ground, oblivious to the fact that the sun now sat low in the sky.

If a passer-by had been able to see them, they would observe Toushirou in a pool of blood, his own sword jammed roughly into his chest, pinning him to the concrete. As it was, they could see the devastation and destruction in the surrounding area that had resulted from the shinigami battle; the street was heavily marred with deep grooves, and buildings had walls knocked down.

All Harry could do was stare up at the ceiling above his bed. He had been awake for nearly an hour now, but he couldn't find the energy to move. _What have I agreed to?_ Strangely, the more he thought about it, the easier it was to accept, but there was a small part of his mind that was rebelling._ Voldemort is evil – I can't let anyone else know about this, they would never understand. But do _I_ even really understand? Why would Toushirou build an army against the wizards? It just doesn't make sense! Where did he come from; who is he; why is he threatening my existence?_

"Hey, Harry, you awake yet?" Ron ambled into the room that they were sharing, leaning casually against the doorframe. He let out a small grunt of acknowledgement and slowly sat up, the deep frown still set on his face.

"Yeah."

"Are you alright mate? You look a little pale." Ron started to walk forward with worry in his expression, but Harry waved him away with his hand and a weak smile.

"I'm fine, just had a bit of a… bad dream."

"About You-Know-Who?" He detected the sympathy and realised with a start that he was gently massaging his forehead. He nodded, knowing that his best friend wouldn't press the issue if he didn't want to speak about it.

They walked in a companionable silence to the kitchen, which was alive with laughter and chatter, but Harry didn't feel like joining in._ Would they hate me?_ He knew the answer would be 'yes' if he ever said that he was going to make an alliance with the Dark Lord._ Dark Lord?_ Hermione sat next to him, concern evident as she spoke in a hushed tone.

"Are you alright, Harry? Is your scar still bothering you?" He frowned again; why did it always have to be about his scar if he looked a little off?_ Maybe this new partnership was to be expected; we're already connected._

"I'm fine, but thanks for asking." Suddenly he looked around him, noticing one person's absence.

"Where's Toushirou?"

"Oh, he's still in bed," she said in an off-handed tone, which only served to arouse his suspicion. Toushirou never slept in. However, he decided to let it drop for now – there was no use worrying over yet another thing. It wasn't until lunchtime that Toushirou's absence became a topic of conversation.

"I wonder where he's gone off to." Sirius looked thoughtful for a moment before Molly cut him off.

"Leave him be; he'll be back when he's hungry, and he'll definitely be back before it's time to return to school in a few days." Harry smiled slightly at the comment – she made him sound like a stray dog._ I guess he does like to be by himself a lot of the time._

A soft _crack_ made him turn his head towards the door, all too familiar with the sound of someone apparating, and he grinned in relief when he saw Dumbledore stride into the room, though his expression was distracted. The old man looked around the room briefly, the corners of his mouth tightening slightly.

"Where's Toushirou?"

"Goodness! You all obsess over that poor boy, I swear; he's not here at the moment. I'm sure he's stepped outside for a while just to have a bit of alone time." Molly bustled around the kitchen, cleaning dishes as they came through when people had finished lunch.

"Did he say whereabouts he was going?"

"No, we haven't seen him today – he left early this morning." Dumbledore nodded, his usual expression replacing the concern and worry as he smiled.

"Of course, and I understand how much he values his privacy." However, while everyone stopped paying attention once Dumbledore had sat down, Harry continued to survey him. The headmaster was obviously concerned over the fact that Toushirou was away by himself, and Harry felt a small pang of jealousy; Dumbledore had ignore him all year because he was busy, yet was able to lend time thinking about some weird kid._ Unless he's suspicious of Toushirou as well!_ The letter that he had retrieved from the transfer student's trunk the previous night burned a hole against his leg through his trouser pocket; he would show it to Dumbledore as soon as he found time.

Though, try as he might, Harry was unable to gain a private audience with the headmaster, which served to frustrate him to no end._ Why does he keep avoiding me?_ He knew that Hermione kept casting worried looks over towards him, but he ignored her – he was fine. With a frustrated sigh, he stood up, glancing at the dark sky outside; it was at least 9pm and Toushirou still wasn't back.

"I'm going to bed." A few heads glanced up briefly at his declaration before settling back to how they were before. Once in his room he grabbed a flashlight and his shoes. It was time to take action; he would find Toushirou no matter what, and if he caught him in the act of conferring with his army, than all the better.

Because he had no doubt that was where the white haired boy was; a person didn't miss three meals just to have a little time to themselves. Gently easing the window open, Harry stole into the night in a random direction. It wasn't until he had gotten hopelessly lost after only a few blocks that he realised he had no clue how to go about finding the boy._ He could be anywhere in London_.

Allowing his feet to carry him wherever they wanted, he soon found himself in a commercial district that looked as though it had experienced a war recently. Buildings were smashed and paving ripped apart, but that wasn't the worst thing; the worst thing about the scene was the massive amount of blood all over the ground.

He felt physically sick at the sight, but he managed to suppress the urge to reproduce his dinner.

"What the hell happened…" He walked forward on shaking knees, towards the area where the blood was most concentrated; at one point in time someone had lain there as their life force slowly drained away. It was a terrible thought. Not too far away, a small piece of wood lay on the ground as though carelessly discarded. _Or dropped out a pocket._ It was splattered with blood, but his keen eyes were able to make out a powdery blue colour with exquisite tendrils creeping along the wood.

It was incredibly beautiful.

It was also incredibly familiar.

"Toushirou…" The name came out in a whisper as Harry looked at the white haired boy's wand.

* * *

Well, the chapter's over, but fear not, for another one will be on the way shortly - I won't be so ambitious, however, to say within the next week, but I will try. How did you like it? Love it? Hate it? It would be great if you could please drop me a review to tell me what you think.

Anyway, because I feel absolutely terrible for waiting so long to update, I have written a personalised response to every person who reviewed. So, without further ado...

* * *

Responses to reviews:

5862-senbonzakura: thank you for the review, and I'm glad you like it J

Amayachida: thanks heaps for the review J Argh, I feel I'm too mean to Harry, but I actually do like him J

Person: It's good to know I still get new readers, and I just love hearing from you J I've still got a few things up my sleeve, but I can't wait to do the big finale for everyone (I've already got the last chapters planned J)

TheDanaDobreAKAToshiroLover: It's been over half a year for this chapter, so sorry about that K but it's finally here, and there will be no more half a year/year waits any more

Slave to my Pen: Thank you so much for your review J I will definitely continue, and finish the story, and hopefully you'll stick with me to the end, even though I'm the biggest slacker out there at the moment, making everyone wait so long for the next chapter

Hakkuchi: I have so many ideas and they just keep pouring out! Hopefully things don't become too convoluted J thank you for your lovely review

Hitsugayataichoda: I agree with you – I was never _too_ happy with it, but it will be needed J

Sakurayuuki19: I will definitely write more of this story, even if it kills me J thanks for the review

Freya9897: It's been way too long, and this one was, unfortunately, even longer; but there shall not be such a long wait anymore! Yes, he will eventually return to Hyourinmaru, though I can't say when J (hopefully soonish though, to give people the heads up)

Kyunika: Thanks heaps for the review J I do have plans for the whole 'future Toushirou/past Toushirou' thing J

Lady Queria: Thanks for the review J I've already planned the ending and a way for it all to resolve itself J

b: thank you for the review J I actually thought about all the back-stories and such before even beginning to write this story, so I'm glad they're working out J

Thirsty4MoreBloodAndWords13: Voldemort is definitely the best hug-giver around J thanks so much for the review

DXmaryoOD: thanks for the review J ah, things are starting to come together, though it may not seem like it (well, I think it doesn't really seem like it J)

XxKyuubiRoxX: Thanks for the review J and there shall no more be a 6 month gap between any of my chapters J

NimayTheAirbender: Haha, I create stories in my mind all the time, which is… a bit… weird I guess, but I don't mind J thanks for the review and I'm glad you like my story

Millie M. Banshee: thanks for the review J the chapter is finally here J

Gadzooks97: thanks for the review J I'm just sorry I made everyone wait so long

Beggs: I just loved your review – it made my entire day J thank you so much for your lovely words, and I'm glad that I've been able to write a story with my own original flare to it, and I'm glad I've gone beyond your expectations J

SilvermistAnimeLover: My goodness, I just love reading long reviews – it really made me smile J I promise that things will become right between Toushirou and Hyourinmaru, and I also can't wait for the meeting with past and future – I think it'll be really fun to write J sorry to make you wait so long for another update, but I promise that I won't ever allow another 6 month/ 1 year mini-hiatus ever again. Your review was beautiful, and I'm just so happy to know that I can cause all these emotions with my story J I would also like to say a special thank you for your motivating PM's J

Cookizilla: thank you for the review J

Ali-kun: so many happy faces in a row J thank you for your review

Readinpublic: thank you for the review J

Guest: I know, and I feel terrible, but here is the delayed chapter, and I hope you enjoy it J


End file.
